Hated by All
by emily4498
Summary: What if Sirius failed to distract the werewolf and Harry was bitten? An exercise in epistolary and other non-traditional storytelling forms.
1. 23 June 1994

23 June 1994

* * *

 _There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshank's hair was on end again; he was backing away—_

 _As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward_.

The werewolf ducked under the giant dog to wrench itself free of the manacle. The chain snapped; the werewolf turned to Ron.

"RON!" Harry bellowed, already running towards them. The dog had just managed to turn around and was leaping towards the werewolf. Harry held up his arms defensively as Ron, unsteady on his bandaged leg, fell. The werewolf swiped at Harry, his claws tearing long, gaping gashes into Harry's face and throwing him to the ground. It stood over Harry, saliva dripping onto Harry's face and into the bleeding gashes, even though Harry held his arms over his face in futile defense. There were two bangs accompanied by flashes of light behind the werewolf, but it didn't move, it only gazed down at Harry.

Hermione screamed. " _Expelliarmus_!"

Harry couldn't look away from the werewolf's eyes, even though the creature's saliva continued to drip on his face. Its eyes were dark, completely devoid of Lupin's solemn focus and compassion. There was a heavy footstep beside the werewolf and the moment was broken. The beast turned towards Sirius and snarled, but Sirius remained still, his ears back and a low whine emitting from deep in his chest. Sirius looked at Harry sadly. The werewolf opened its jaws and bit down on Harry's right arm. Harry screamed as the werewolf started to drag him away towards the Forbidden Forest.

"Harry!" Hermione screamed, but Sirius turned towards her and growled. She froze in shock as Sirius blocked her from following. "He's going to kill Harry!" She whimpered, pointing her trembling wand at Sirius.

Sirius growled again, and Hermione took a step back. He looked pointedly towards Ron, then turned and bounded after Harry and the werewolf. When reached them, he licked Harry's uninjured cheek then grabbed a mouthful of the shoulder of Harry's robes and helped drag him into the Forbidden Forest.

H | P

By the time they stopped in a well-made hollow deep in the Forbidden Forest, Harry's robes were nearly shredded, and his back was caked with dirt and leaves. Sirius paced in the entrance of the hollow, his gaze shifting anxiously between Harry and the forest outside. The werewolf pinned Harry to the ground with both giant paws before the boy could scramble away. Harry screamed and ineffectually tried to push the werewolf away. When the creature started to lick the gashes on Harry's face, the boy squeezed his eyes closed and went still.

Suddenly, the werewolf froze and turned towards the entrance. Sirius turned towards the entrance, peering out. Suddenly, the bearlike dog's ears flattened and he crouched, a pitiful, terrified whine rising from deep in his chest. The air went cold and Harry felt himself shiver with fear.

Outside the hollow, dementors approached, sweeping through the forest. The werewolf, its tail tucked tightly between its legs, caught Harry's injured arm in his jaws again and dragged the boy into the deepest part of the hollow. Sirius followed and as soon as the werewolf released Harry, laid down on top of the boy, completely covering him under the dog's bulk. Even with the giant dog's heavy warmth, Harry still felt the piercing cold of the dementors. Harry shivered and clung to Sirius' filthy, matted fur with his uninjured arm. He could feel the dog's ribs under his hands, realizing that Sirius would be much bigger when he wasn't skin and bones. The werewolf paced protectively around them, occasionally turning and bumping Sirius with his nose.

For a moment, all the moonlight was obscured by the bodies of the dementors. Harry could barely breathe underneath Sirius' weight, but it insulated him from the dementor's effects, hiding him beneath the animal. Sirius shivered on top of him and released a long, pitiful whine. The werewolf growled when the creatures creeped too close to them and the abominations quickly retreated from the hollow.

After what felt like hours, the dementors continued on and Sirius rose from his place atop Harry and the werewolf resumed its ministrations of Harry's wounds. Sirius lay beside Harry, his eyes closed, but his ears perked for any change in the werewolf's intentions.

When Harry's wounds were as clean as the werewolf could make them, the werewolf left the boy lying on the floor and pawed at Sirius' head. Harry slowly inched away from the two beasts as they started to wrestle in the hollow, chasing each other around. The werewolf tried to bound out of the hollow, enticing Sirius to run, but Sirius remained just outside the hollow, refusing to leave. The werewolf bounded off alone and Sirius remained, his giant frame standing guard outside the hollow.

Harry slowly stood and crept along one wall. He made it three steps out of the hollow before his toe struck a tree root with an audible thump. Sirius turned to face him.

Slowly, Harry backed away. "Please, Mr. Black. Don't hurt me. I'll do anything you want—please don't hurt me!"

Sirius flattened his ears and whined, glancing in the direction the werewolf went. After a brief moment, he transformed. "I won't hurt you, Harry. I would never hurt you. The werewolf is about to come back so I only have a moment. I promise, I'll explain everything in the morning when it's safe, okay? Please, Harry—" Sirius broke off and transformed. Harry tried to dash away, but Sirius swiftly intercepted him and caught the side of Harry's robes in his teeth, gently but firmly tugging Harry back into the hollow. Harry struggled and screamed, trying to escape. A moment later, the werewolf returned, a large rabbit in its jaws. Harry, stiff with terror, allowed Sirius to drag him back into the hollow.

It followed Sirius and Harry into the hollow, then roughly pushed Harry down in the back of the hollow. The werewolf ripped off a strip of the rabbit's haunch and dropped it in Harry's lap, then ripped the rest in half, dropping one half in front of Sirius and beginning to devour the other half. Sirius dug into his piece, devouring it in seconds. The werewolf ate just as quickly. Both animals settled to gnawing the bones, but Harry tossed his piece between them in disgust. Sirius watched Harry carefully while the werewolf snatched up the piece and voraciously consumed it. Harry glared back, but eventually retreated into the corner of the hollow. The werewolf stretched, then padded over to Harry and sat beside him. Even with the werewolf's fur brushing his leg, Harry eventually succumbed to the exhaustion and pain, falling asleep propped against the wall of the hollow. He didn't wake until Remus' pained scream from the reversing transform woke him.

Remus collapsed on the floor of the hollow, exhausted and as soon as the transformation was complete, Sirius transformed as well and crouched beside him. Sirius glanced at Harry as he steered Remus around so he wouldn't see Harry, who stayed slumped against the wall, his injured arm pressed against his stomach.

"Sirius? I remember—Sirius, what happened? Are the kids okay?"

"It's going to be okay, Remus, it's going to be okay."

"I remember—my mouth tastes like blood—human blood. Who did I hurt?"

"They're alive, Remus. They're alive. Calm down."

"Who did I hurt? Sirius, tell me!"

Sirius glanced at Harry before he could stop himself. Remus turned around to see the boy huddled in the corner.

"Sirius, why is Harry here? Sirius! Why is he here? What did I do?" Remus nearly screamed the last part.

"You're not the wolf, Remus. You're not the wolf."

"Now is not the time for that nonsense. Tell me, what did I do?"

Sirius hesitated.

"Tell me now, Sirius, or I swear—"

"You'll what, Remus? You don't even have a wand."

"Please, Sirius, what did I—What did the wolf do?"

Sirius took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Remus. I tried to stop the wolf. You transformed and I tried to drive the wolf away from everyone, but when I jumped, the wolf dodged. It tried to attack the Weasley boy, but then—but Harry jumped in front of him. The wolf knocked Harry down—that's how he got the scratches on his face—but before I could knock the wolf away, it froze. I don't know how it happened. The werewolf just stared at Harry for the longest time—then it got defensive. I was going to knock it away, but then the wolf turned to me. It recognized me, it must have recognized Harry as Prong's blood—that's the only explanation I can think of. It shouldn't be possible."

"James' wards."

"There aren't any wards that can keep a werewolf out."

"After Harry was born. At my request, James figured out how to create a ward that would prevent me from harming Harry. It only worked on me but I thought the ward died with James—that's why I never sought Harry out afterward. After James cast the ward, he introduced the wolf to Harry to make sure the ward would hold. It worked—the wolf accepted Harry as kin. Part of it must have survived James or the wolf must have recognized him. Thank Merlin! Harry's safe!"

Remus started to smile, but it faded when he saw Sirius' expression.

"It did work, right? I—the wolf didn't hurt him?"

"Remus—" Sirius broke off for a moment. "The wolf dragged Harry here by the arm—treated him the same way he treated me and James when we were injured during adventures."

"No—" Remus turned to Harry. "Harry, let me see the wounds."

Harry didn't move, shrinking away from the two adults and glaring defiantly at them. Sirius stayed on the other side of the hollow.

"Harry, please, I have to know whether you've been infected." Remus pleaded desperately.

Reluctantly, Harry closed his eyes and turned his head to the side to give Remus a clearer view of the claw marks on his face. Remus gently touched the swollen tissue around the cuts.

"Your arm, now. Please, Harry."

Harry slowly uncurled his arm from his body and held the trembling limb out for Remus to examine. Remus peeled back the sleeve Harry had wrapped around it and took the boy's hand to hold the arm steady. After a moment examining it in the dim, morning light, Remus carefully rewrapped the arm in the sleeve and released Harry's hand.

Remus stood up and started to trudge towards the exit. Sirius stood up and stepped in his path.

"You're not going anywhere, Remus. You can't leave him. Not now, not when you're the only person who can understand what he is about to go through."

"That would be cruel. I made him into a monster, Sirius! Even if he wants to be around me, I won't. I won't get his hopes up. The moment someone finds out that he's a werewolf, that I turned him, they'll have me executed, Sirius. I'm not a pureblood like you, Sirius, I can't get away with only a life sentence in Azkaban—it doesn't matter if a werewolf victim survives. They're going to execute me and it's going to be public—a warning to other werewolves and a sport for the rest of the wizarding world. I won't get Harry's hopes up."

"No one will find out about the lycanthropy. We'll turn in Pettigrew, clear my name, and then everything will be better, Remus. Dumbledore will help him the same way he helped you and we can be with him every single moon."

"Harry is the Boy-Who-Lived! There's no way for him to keep lycanthropy hidden for long!"

"Dumbledore will protect him."

"Dumbledore didn't even lift a finger to help you! He still thinks you're guilty! It's only a matter of time before they search the forest—they're probably already searching!"

"The dementors already searched during the night. I can hide Harry from them again if they try again and we both know that not even Hagrid comes this deep into the Forbidden Forest and the hollow still has our enchantments from when we were in school. Only Dumbledore or the Map can find us now."

"The map that is currently sitting open on my desk and Dumbledore, who still thinks you're guilty."

"Remus—"

"Don't make me force you, Sirius."

"No, I won't let you walk away from me, Remus. Not like this."

"You can't stop me." Remus shoved Sirius back. Sirius landed on all fours, transforming into a giant dog and blocking the exit. Remus tried to push past the dog, but he was too big—far bigger than Remus, who didn't have a wand to even the odds. When Remus took a step back, Sirius returned to his human form.

"We're going to wait here. We're going to wait here for Dumbledore to find us. He will find us. We'll explain everything. Dumbledore will fix everything."

Remus gave in, although he clearly didn't believe Sirius, and went to sit down against the wall to Harry's right. Sirius sat down in front of the exit.

"Harry, do you have your wand?" Remus asked quietly.

With his uninjured hand, Harry reached his robes until he found his wand and pulled it out, but his hand was shaking. Harry immediately dropped it and clenched his fists, leaving it on the ground beside him.

"Good. Harry I'm going to tell you how to close the wounds. The spell is _obligo_. Take your wand tip and touch the wound then say the spell while visualizing the flesh sealing together."

"Remus, he's only thirteen."

"Would you prefer for me to take him to St. Mungo's?"

"Do it yourself, Remus. You know how much practice the spell takes, and Harry can't use his right arm to cast it."

"I lost my wand."

"Use Harry's."

"No. I won't take anything else from him."

"Just fix it," Harry interrupted quietly. "Please. Just fix it. It hurts."

"Harry—" Remus said quietly.

"I'll wait outside," Sirius stated.

As soon as Sirius left, Remus scooted closer to Harry and stopped, barely within arm's reach. Harry held out his wand and Remus took it gently, grasping Harry's trembling hand in his.

"It's okay, Harry. The lycanthropy will settle once the sun finishes rising."

"So it's true? I'm a werewolf now?"

"I'm sorry, Harry. I should have been more careful."

"I'm not going to be able to go back to Hogwarts, am I?"

"It depends on what your friends said and did last night. It depends on whether Severus kept his mouth shut."

"I was just trying to protect Ron."

"I'm sorry, Harry." Remus knelt in front of Harry and touched Harry's wand to one of the claw marks on his face. " _Obligo_ ," he murmured. The cut closed, leaving an ugly, puckered scar. Remus repeated the spell until Harry's face and arm were free of open wounds.

"It still hurts."

"I know. They're going to hurt anytime the moon is close to full. The infecting wound is the worst. Injuries from other werewolves may leave scars, but after the first ones, they heal quickly."

Remus sat down beside Harry and returned his wand.

"Mr. Black said—" Harry began. "I suppose it doesn't matter anymore."

There was a long silence.

"Is Mr. Black coming back?"

"He will when I call him."

"Can he hear us?"

"No, nothing that happens inside the hollow can be heard on the outside. Your father was particularly good at that enchantment. He was good at wards in general."

"He was?"

"Your father was brilliant in a lot of things. You probably already know this, but his best subject was Transfiguration. He had such an amazing imagination that he could transfigure anything he wanted. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have access to half the resources, especially after James' mother cut his allowance when she found out he was using it for pranks. In fact, you know those trick steps all over the castle?"

Harry nodded.

"They were all your parents' work. James wanted to go out with a bang so to speak and Lily had a near-perfect record. While inadvisable, your parents combined Transfiguration and Charms, their two best subjects, to spread hundreds of pranks all over the castle."

"You said that Dumbledore didn't help Mr. Black—that means Dumbledore was one of the people responsible for Mr. Black not getting a fair trial."

"Even I thought that Sirius was guilty, Harry. Anyone who thought Sirius was the secret keeper would have thought that Sirius was the only person who could sell you and your parents out. There was no need for a trial."

"Do you think Dumbledore can really help?"

"No, Harry. I don't think Dumbledore can help. Lycanthropy is extremely dangerous, even if it's only for one night every month. It's only a matter of time before someone figures it out. We don't have a clue what has happened in the castle, so we don't even know if it's safe to go back. Just walking out of this forest, scarred but alive, could be enough evidence for the Ministry to declare you a werewolf, unless your friends made up a story about what happened."

"Professor—"

"Just Remus, Harry, or Moony if you're comfortable with it. I don't deserve to be a professor anymore."

"You're the best Defense teacher we've ever had."

"I'm glad to hear that, Harry."

"Er, Remus—" Harry started to ask, but stopped.

"You can ask me anything you want. I owe you that."

"Why didn't Mr. Black stop you—I mean, the wolf from dragging me off?"

Remus sighed. "As big as Sirius' animagus is, he's no match for a werewolf—he never was. Once the wolf decides on something, there is nothing that can dissuade it. Only James managed it, even then it was only once. The wolf would have killed Sirius for getting in his way, and it has almost killed him before—luckily your father was there to save him. Sirius would have intervened if your life was at risk or if there was a chance of preventing you from being infected with lycanthropy. By the time he reached you, you were already infected and fighting the wolf would have only gotten everyone killed. If the wolf was focused on you, it would have left the others, who would have been killed without hesitation, from harm."

"He asked me to come live with him."

"I heard."

"I'd rather live with him than the Dursley's."

"Your reaction when he asked proved that, but Harry, that might not be an option anymore."

"I won't be able to go back and live with Muggles anyway."

"I'm sorry, Harry."

"It's not your fault."

"You sound like your father."

"I'm not going to be able to play Quidditch anymore, will I?"

"I don't know. If we can keep what happened as secret, you might be able to continue on as if nothing has changed—you're going to have to. If not, I don't know what will happen."

"You'll be there, right? No matter what?" Harry asked hopefully.

"I can't make a promise I might not be able to keep. I'm sorry. I will promise you this: as long as it is possible, I'll be there for you whenever you need."

They fell silent. The hollow gradually brightened with muted sunlight. Several minutes later, Sirius returned.

"Dumbledore is coming, but he has two squads of aurors with him and at least five of the former Order of the Phoenix. Remus, dementors are with them and they're coming straight for us here. Dumbledore doesn't have the map."

"How long?"

"Half hour. Outer wards were tripped. Remus, you're going to have to talk to them—they will only attack me and they'll think I'm controlling Harry, but you can convince them."

"They know I'm a werewolf, Sirius. They won't listen."

"You're the best chance we have!"

"We could just run," Harry interrupted Remus' answer.

"No!" Both adults said firmly.

"Why not?"

"No matter what kind of message we leave, it will look like we kidnapped you, Harry."

"I'll write the message!"

"It won't matter what you write they will only think we're controlling you."

"But you're not!"

"How do you know, Harry?" Sirius asked. "You saw me with a wand—"

"Sirius, don't manipulate him against you. You never managed to cast a successful _obliviate_ , much less the charm to modify memories."

"I can cast my Patronus and we can all go out and talk to them." Harry suggested uncertainly. "Dumbledore will listen, won't he?"

"Dumbledore can't control the Ministry."

"What if we go back to the castle?"

"It will be surrounded by dementors and we'll have to go through Dumbledore to get there. We're not far from Acromantula territory and—"

"The centaurs!" Sirius said excitedly. "Dumbledore always listens to them! We can appeal their help."

"Maybe, but it's our best bet. Come on, Harry, we have to hurry." Remus stood up and held out a hand to help Harry up. The boy took it but swayed where he stood. After a moment of contemplation, Remus turned to Sirius. "He won't make it to centaur territory. Transform and he'll ride on your back. We'll switch when you get tired."

Sirius transformed, and Harry struggled to climb on Sirius' back with one arm. Remus helped steady him, then the group hurried out of the hollow towards the rising sun.

Harry lay flat on Sirius' back, both hands tightly gripping the giant dog's fur. Remus kept a hand on Harry's back, keeping him steady despite the awkwardness of riding a dog.

"We're halfway there, Sirius. Let's switch."

Sirius lay down so Harry could slide off easier and transformed, slowly picking himself off the ground. Remus crouched for Harry to climb on his back, the stood up. Harry lay his head on Remus' shoulder.

"He needs a blood replenishing potion," Remus said as Harry's grip gradually slackened.

"It won't be long."

"He's not going to make it—Sirius! Catch him!"

Sirius barely managed to catch Harry as he listed to the side, sliding off Remus' back.

" _Obligo_ wore off," Remus murmured as he examined Harry's face. The claw marks had begun to ooze blood. "Harry, open your eyes—don't fall asleep on us now. Harry!"

The boy's eyes stayed closed.

"Where is his wand?"

"Front left pocket of his robes," Sirius answered promptly.

Remus quickly pulled it out. " _Obligo_ ," He murmured, recasting the spell. The centaurs slowly emerged from the trees around them, their bows trained on the trio. Sirius straightened, watching them carefully.

"Bane." Sirius greeted, focusing on the leader.

"Black." The centaur responded. "We have left you to roam these woods for this school year even though you have brought those fiends here. Now you draw wizards with their wands ready to strike. Tell us, why should we still suffer you in our forest?"

"Because of Harry. You know who he is. I know you've seen it in the stars too—even I can see his importance spread across the heavens."

"Then you didn't see the heavens shift last night. The lycanthropy destroyed the curse inside him that makes him so important. It also destroyed the magic that protected him from the creature who cursed him. He is no more important than any other boy."

"Sirius?"

"I don't know if he's telling the truth. I didn't see the sky last night."

Remus looked up at the centaurs. "If you won't help Harry, then at least see justice done. Sirius Black is innocent of the murders he is accused of."

"Black may be innocent, but you are not, Lupin."

"Harry is only thirteen. He doesn't deserve to be caught in the squabbles of his elders!"

"Take care of your own young—"

Sirius stood up, straightening his back and lowering his voice. "Your father owed James Potter a life debt, Bane. He never asked for anything in return. Now is your chance to pay it."

"You don't speak for the boy, Black."

"I'm his godfather. I can speak for him."

Bane gritted his teeth. "Very well. This will cancel the debt."

As one, the centaurs turned and left.

"James held a life debt?" Remus asked warily.

"Yes. He held several and inherited more, but I don't know the details."

"Who?"

"I don't know because I never asked."

"That's dark magic! James hated the dark arts!"

"The life debts occur whether they're intended or not. They're only dark if the debts are ritualized, putting one person in the service of another. James never performed the ritual, but the centaurs did. I think Snape did as well, but I don't know when. James had no way to stop the ritual and I'm not even sure he knew until after it had been done. As long as he didn't call in the debt, he wasn't the one using dark magic."

Both Remus and Sirius' heads snapped to the side as they heard footsteps approaching.

After a moment, Dumbledore emerged from the trees, Snape shadowing him closely. Their clothes were snagged with twigs, the hems of their robes were muddy, and wands were clutched in their hands. On Dumbledore's shoulder, his Patronus, a large phoenix, perched. At Snape's side, a doe tiptoed beside him, hooves leaving no trace of its passing.

"Sir—" Sirius began, not rising from where he crouched beside Harry.

Dumbledore raised a hand. "Just a moment, Mr. Black. How is Mr. Potter?"

"He needs a blood replenishing potion, but he should be okay," Remus answered calmly, carefully setting Harry's wand on the ground.

"Severus, do you have—"

"Yes, sir."

Snape reached into his robes and pulled out a vial of potion. Sirius stood sharply and snatched it out of the potion master's hand, examined it, then handed it to Remus.

"Thank you, Severus," Remus said quietly and tipped the potion into Harry's mouth. The boy swallowed it reflexively, but otherwise didn't stir.

"May I examine him?" Dumbledore asked softly.

Sirius remained standing between them, his feet planted in the ground, and his arms crossed over his chest.

"He'll be okay, Professor," Remus assured him. "I cleaned and closed the wounds, but the spell won't last long."

"He was infected?"

"Yes, sir, but he'll be okay—as okay as he can be."

Dumbledore sighed. "Very well. Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley insisted that you were innocent, Mr. Black. I am inclined to believe them, however, Mr. Pettigrew has escaped and your innocence cannot be proven—the Minister has given orders to the dementors for them to administer the Kiss on-sight."

Sirius deflated. "Please, Professor, there has to be something you can do! Just a trial, please! I'll take Veratiserum!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Black. The Minister overheard everything that Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley told me. He knows that Harry was bitten and he knows by whom. Mr. Lupin, you are in equally dire straits, however, not from the dementors. The Prophet has already published the story. Harry is lucky not to be facing accusations of becoming a dark wizard. The Minister is on the verge of declaring him wanted."

"But sir, it's not true! Surely you—"

"I am sorry, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, but it's going to take all of the influence I have simply to protect Harry. I cannot help either of you."

Without warning, Remus snatched Harry's wand from the ground and flicked it at Snape. His wand flew from his hand and Sirius caught it, immediately sending a stunner at Snape. The man dodged. Dumbledore drew his own wand and blocked the two stunners, then cast a spell at Harry before either man could raise a shield. Both men cast a disarming charm at Dumbledore. He nimbly blocked the one cast by Remus and stepped into the one from Sirius. His wand flew through the air and Sirius caught it. As soon as the wand touched him, red sparks burst from the tip and Sirius staggered back a step.

Dumbledore raised both his hands to show them that they were empty. Snape did the same.

"Remus, this is your wand," Sirius said, holding out the wand that had been taken from Snape. Remus took it, examined it briefly, tapped it twice with Harry's wand, then looked up at Dumbledore.

"Professor?" Remus asked uncertainly.

"Mr. Black, that is a powerful wand you hold. Use it wisely. Mr. Lupin, I made arrangements for you to be at Hogwarts under the condition that no one found out about your lycanthropy and there was never an incident. The Prophet has now announced to everyone that you are a werewolf and you have attacked and turned a student here. If there hadn't been an incident, I might have been able to defend you, but not anymore. I am sorry. Mr. Black, I have sent Harry's trunk and his owl to Grimmauld Place, as well as a handful of Mr. Lupin's personal effects, including a rather mysterious map. I suggest the three of you hide there. I'm sorry I cannot be of more assistance. The goblins have refused the Ministry's requests to close your vaults, so you have some money, if you can find a way to access it. It cost several precious artifacts to persuade them, so I advise you to remain on cordial terms with Gringotts."

Both men stared openly at Dumbledore in awe.

"Now, Mr. Black, I believe you remember how to create a Portkey?"

"Thank you, Professor," Sirius said with a cocky grin.

"Don't thank me, Mr. Black. Publicly, I will refuse to defend your actions. If you are caught, I will not intervene. I have removed the Trace from Harry, so he will be able to use magic outside of Hogwarts. I suggest you find a way to clear your names as soon as possible."

Remus nodded grimly. "Sirius, the Portkey." Without warning, Remus slashed his wand at Dumbledore and the spell caught the man's sleeve on fire. Remus stunned Snape, then grabbed the Portkey.

Harry, Remus, and Sirius vanished from Hogwarts.

* * *

 _Author's note: Welcome! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. This is not your average werewolf!Harry fic. I've read quite a few to see what most fics like this are about and it has very little in common with them because I wrote it before doing my research on other werewolf!Harry fics. Also, the majority of this story will not be in traditional story forms. It's mostly a collection of artifacts which relate to events. Updates will loosely correspond to the dates which events in the story occur._

 _ **UP NEXT:** Two articles from the Daily Prophet! _


	2. 24 June 1994

24 June 1994

* * *

 **TERROR AND BETRAYAL AT HOGWARTS**

By Erica Conall

Just last night, Sirius Black appeared on the grounds of Hogwarts! According to witnesses, he grabbed a student walking towards to castle after a late afternoon visit to the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. He dragged the student, Ronald Weasley, down a secret passageway beneath the Whomping Willow. Weasley's two friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, followed him down the passageway. Minutes later, Remus Lupin, one of the more popular Defense Against the Dark Arts professors of recent years, followed them down the passageway. Severus Snape, the infamous former Death Eater and current potions master at Hogwarts, followed not long after.

This was the least of the surprises that occurred, but our story starts long before last night. In 1971, the Whomping Willow as planted on the grounds of Hogwarts. At the time, Dumbledore explained that it was to help preserve the species. The Board of Governors at Hogwarts threatened to remove the tree after several students were injured when they were dared to approach it, however, it was allowed to remain in the end. At the time, no one thought much of the specific time the tree was introduced to the Hogwarts grounds, however, several notable names began their first year at Hogwarts in 1971.

On the first of September 1971, six bright-eyed eleven-year-olds boarded the Hogwarts Express, oblivious to the role their names would play in the future. The most well-known name of the six was Sirius Black. He was the first Black to be sorted outside of Slytherin and, at the time, caused quite a stir among Pureblood high society. James and Lily Potter, deceased parents of Harry Potter, followed Black into Gryffindor that night alongside Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. Severus Snape was sorted into Slytherin. During their time at Hogwarts, James Potter, Black, Pettigrew, and Lupin were an infamous gang of pranksters who caused endless mischief during their years at Hogwarts. Their most vocal enemy was none other than Severus Snape. At the end of their time at Hogwarts, when the war against You-Know-Who was beginning to peak, James Potter earned his place as Head Boy and led the school alongside his future wife, Lily Evans, Head Girl. Two years before, Remus Lupin was appointed prefect, due to his reputation of responsibility even though he was most certainly just as much of a troublemaker as his friends. It wasn't until after he graduated that Sirius Black became well-known as not only the best friend of James Potter, but a staunch defender of the light. Their years of childhood mischief behind them, they became well-known faces in the fight against You-Know-Who.

All of that changed on Halloween night, October 1981. The Potter family went into hiding from You-Know-Who when their son, Harry Potter, was born the year before. Sirius Black, the family's best friend, godfather of their son, and Secret Keeper, betrayed their location to You-Know-Who for reasons unknown. It was the most shocking betrayal Britain has faced in living memory. Only Harry Potter survived. Shortly after, the gruesome murder of Peter Pettigrew in a street full of muggles left us speechless.

Remus Lupin could not be found for comment. In fact, no record of Remus Lupin, save his subscription to this newspaper, could be found anywhere in the magical world for the next ten years. When he returned, he bounced between jobs every few months until Albus Dumbledore asked him to take on the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, shortly before Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban. Previously, the staff here at The Daily Prophet did not consider the two events linked, but now, Lupin's mysterious disappearance for ten years, his past friendship with Black, and recent revelations call him into question.

Last night, Lupin, Snape, and Black went down the tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow. Hours later, they returned. Lupin and Black were unavailable for questioning. When asked his version of what happened, Snape responded curtly, "I don't remember anything beyond entering the tunnel." The only testimony of that night comes from third-year students Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, both of whom are currently in St. Mungo's and it is suspected that their memories have been tampered with. The story they gave was quite fantastical. Weasley was dragged down the tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow, a tunnel that leads to the Shrieking Shack, by Sirius Black. Weasley had just found his lost pet rat in the gamekeeper's hut. Granger and Harry Potter desperately followed Weasley in an attempt to save him. Granger and Weasley, when they finally returned to Hogwarts, only a broken leg and a mild collection of scrapes and bruises to show for their ordeal, they insisted that Black had only attempted to kidnap Weasley's pet rat. Black claimed it was an unregistered animagus, whose form was a rat. The rat's actual identity was claimed to be Peter Pettigrew, whom Black accused of being the real Secret Keeper while Black was the decoy. Black further accused the rat of framing him for the murder of muggles and faking his own death by cutting off his finger. Granger and Weasley described how Black not only convinced them of his innocence but convinced Lupin as well.

Partway through the explanation, Severus Snape made it into the Shrieking Shack and attempted to confront Black but was attacked from several directions at once. According to the school nurse, Poppy Pomfrey, "Severus received a nasty knock on the head and has a rather severe concussion. The man should be resting to help him recover his memories, not traipsing about the Forest!"

After Snape was rendered unconscious, Granger and Weasley claimed to have watched Black and Lupin force the rat to turn into Peter Pettigrew! The group then made their way back through the tunnel under the Whomping Willow and were on their way back to school when the unexpected happened. The full moon rose and Remus Lupin transformed into a werewolf! Weasley described the werewolf as "bigger than a lion! It looked almost as big as Hagrid!" Granger vividly recounted how the werewolf started to attack Weasley, but Harry Potter bravely stepped between his friend and the dark creature. The Boy-Who-Lived was batted aside by the werewolf's giant claws. The werewolf turned on him, but miraculously didn't attack! The two only stared at each other for an endless moment. Granger then reported that Peter Pettigrew stole Lupin's wand and attacked Weasley with an unknown spell. She disarmed him, but he transformed back into a rat and escaped into the night. Granger continued by describing how Black told her to help Weasley and Snape, then cautiously approached the werewolf, who bit down on Harry Potter's arm and dragged him, with the help of Sirius Black, into the Forbidden Forest.

Perhaps our readers have seen the many holes in this story. First, Peter Pettigrew was never considered a very bright boy. In fact, he failed his Transfiguration O.W.L. with a 'P.' The animagus transformation is an advanced, highly dangerous, wandless transfiguration that only the most advanced Transfiguration masters have attempted and succeeded. According to Black's story, Pettigrew mastered it during his fifth year at Hogwarts, which is an impossible feat. However, there is very little that we know about Peter Pettigrew aside from his grades in school and his status as a close friend of Potter, Lupin, and Black. He was consistently overshadowed by the other three. Could he still be alive or have Granger and Weasley's memories been tampered with?

Another statement that is highly suspect in Weasley and Granger's testimony is the behavior of the werewolf. Werewolves, by nature, hunt only humans and attack whenever they are given the opportunity. For a werewolf to willingly work with a human to abduct, not kill, a second human, is an impossible event. Could Black have used the Imperious curse on the werewolf? There is no recorded attempt to do so, therefore we cannot prove or disprove this theory.

One thing is for certain: there was a true werewolf in the Forbidden Forest last night. Aurors, who were called as soon as Harry Potter was declared missing, heard the howls of the creature in the forest. Werewolves have distinctive howls that differ from other animals. They found the tracks from where Harry Potter was dragged through the forest, but by the time they reached the end of the trail, it was morning and the hollow was empty, save for the still-wet blood pooled in the corner of the crude shelter and a pile of gnawed bones from a small animal. Harry Potter obviously spent the night there with a large animal.

Furthermore, for the duration of the school year, Snape has been purchasing the ingredients for the Wolfsbane Potion, a potion that makes a transformed werewolf docile and ensures they keep their human mind throughout the night. Snape was not available for the follow-up interview due to his participation in searching the Forbidden Forest for Black, Lupin, and Harry Potter. Here at The Daily Prophet, several team members attended school with Lupin and recall that he mysteriously disappeared for two or three days every month and Lupin's 'furry little problem' was a running joke between Lupin and his friends. Most students assumed it was a troublesome pet that frequently attacked Lupin because he returned from his absences with scratches. James Potter frequently sported similar injuries, but at the time, they were attributed to his Quidditch practices, which were known to often be violent. However, James Potter, despite his reputation as a troublemaker, had perfect attendance in class. Perhaps Lupin had taken the Wolfsbane Potion that night and was acting completely under his own volition.

The events of last night raise many questions.

Was Black innocent as he claimed or did he manipulate the memories of Weasley and Granger?

Has Lupin been involved in Black's plots the whole time, or has he recently turned to Black's side?

What is the former Death Eater, Severus Snape's role in this?

Has Harry Potter been infected with Lycanthropy?

Was Harry Potter abducted or was his supposed abduction staged?

Most of all: Where is Harry Potter? Is he with Black? Lupin? Or both?

Here at The Daily Prophet, we are determined to find the answers!

* * *

24 June 1994

* * *

 **Special Evening Edition**

 **HARRY POTTER: A WEREWOLF?**

By Erica Conall

Your reporter, Erica Conall, managed to snag an interview with Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape about Harry Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. Both men appeared exhausted and bedraggled from their search of the Forbidden Forest. During the interview, your reporter maintained a mild truth spell. It never wavered. Everything reported exactly as heard, complete and unedited.

Conall(R): Thank you for meeting with me today, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape.

Albus Dumbledore(D): It is a pleasure, Miss Conall. We are both busy people, so let us not waste time on pleasantries. Your first question?

R: Did you find Harry Potter in the Forbidden Forest?

D: I saw him briefly. What would you like to know?

R: Was he abducted as it has been speculated?

D: I believe he was abducted.

R: Was there anyone with him?

D: Messrs. Black and Lupin were with him.

R: Could you describe his state? Was he alive? Injured?

D: He was injured and unconscious. The flesh of his right arm was mangled and there were vicious gashes on the side of his face. He was alive and breathing from what I could see.

R: There have been rumors that Harry Potter has been infected with lycanthropy. Can you confirm or deny them?

D: To the best of my knowledge, he has been infected. The gashes on Harry's face could only have come from a werewolf. Mr. Lupin indicated that the infection had already set.

R: Do you know which werewolf infected him?

D: Regrettably, I have to admit that it was Mr. Lupin. Although, the seemed to regret his actions.

R: Did Mr. Lupin consume the Wolfsbane Potion last night?

D: Severus?

Severus Snape(S): He did not. I had come to bring him the potion when I looked out the window and saw him running across the grounds towards the Whomping Willow.

R: Then how do you explain Miss Granger's report that the werewolf halted its attack on Harry Potter and supposedly worked alongside Sirius Black to abduct Harry Potter?

S: If the werewolf halted the attack. If it worked with Black. I didn't witness this happening and I have known Granger, Weasley, and Potter to lie on many occasions.

R: What do you mean? Do the three students have a history of misbehavior?

S: Yes. They have been caught disregarding school rules since the day they arrived. First, the troll, then wandering out-of-bounds on several occasions, Parseltongue, conveniently the first to happen upon more than one petrifaction last year. This year—

D: That's enough, Severus.

R: Harry Potter is a Parselmouth? Could you elaborate?

S: It was discovered during the brief dueling club that was created last year. A snake was conjured and Potter spoke to it. In the end, Potter was cleared of opening the Chamber of Secrets and setting the basilisk loose on the school, however, the individual blamed for the incident was unable to speak Parseltongue, thus it was impossible that the girl could have controlled the Basilisk, which Potter claimed was Slytherin's monster hidden in the Chamber of Secrets.

R: Professor Snape, do you think that Harry Potter was responsible for the opening of the Chamber of Secrets last year and the subsequent attacks?

S: I know that Potter was fully capable of opening the chamber, however, his close friend, Hermione Granger, was attacked, and he had alibis for most of the attacks, making him no more or less likely of a suspect than any of his peers. However, his involvement was still suspicious and he meddled when he ought not have.

R: You mentioned a troll. I don't believe we know anything about Harry Potter being associated with a troll. Could you elaborate?

S: During Potter's first year, somehow a troll made it into the school. Potter foolishly ran off to find his friend and ended up fighting the troll. How he managed to defeat the troll was never made clear to the staff.

R: Currently, there is speculation that Harry Potter might have gone with Sirius Black of his own accord. Since you were one of Harry's teachers, do you have anything to say on the matter?

S: Although I hate to admit it, Potter is not a complete moron. He would not have willingly followed a werewolf into the Forbidden Forest, however, the boy is a slippery brat and he has the talent and means to escape from them if he so desires. He may not have gone with Black and Lupin of his own accord, but he is certainly remaining with them of his own volition.

R: Earlier, Professor Dumbledore mentioned that Potter was severely injured to the point of unconsciousness.

S: The boy was faking, making his injury appear more severe than it actually was.

R: Professor Dumbledore, do you have anything to say?

D: I do not have enough information at this time to make a decision, however, I am certain the boy was genuinely injured this morning.

At this point, the interview was interrupted by the Minister of Magic and Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour, who refused to comment. How many of the comments were true and how many were fiction? Is Harry Potter really our golden boy or is he inclined to the dark arts? Could he have found out about his godfather's connection to the dark arts and followed in his footsteps? Here at The Daily Prophet, we are determined to find the answers!

* * *

 _Author's note: Don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think! Next update will be July 20th._

 _ **UP NEXT:** A collection of letters from our favorite fugitives!_


	3. 20 July 1994

20 July 1994

Ron,

Sirius has been trying to persuade me to write you a letter for almost three weeks now. I'm sorry I haven't. I don't really have an excuse. Remus said that a lot of his friends stopped being friends with him whenever they found out he was a werewolf. Except my dad and Sirius. They stayed his friends. I'm a werewolf and I suppose I don't want to know if you don't want to be my friend anymore.

I heard about all the trouble I caused you. I'm really sorry I couldn't be there with you. Sirius asked me if I wanted to visit, but I told him I didn't want to because I don't want to leave him and Remus alone. I'm scared to leave here too. (I can't tell you where I am because someone might read this letter. I know everyone will come looking if they do. I've read The Daily Prophet and I know everyone is looking for us.) What if I hurt someone and they become a werewolf too? Sirius says that's not how it works. I think Remus agrees with me because he didn't say anything. Sirius was really upset when I didn't believe him. I know Hermione will think I'm being silly. You don't think I'm silly, do you?

There's a lot of stuff to do here, but most of it is exploring and cleaning. Sometimes, I think the place we're living is HAUNTED! We have to be really quiet in some places otherwise the portraits start screaming mean things at us. They're especially mean to me and Remus, but Sirius makes them shut up. He tells us that everything the portraits say are lies, but I don't believe him. Remus doesn't believe them either.

Sirius is writing a letter to your mum about something important and he says he wants to put it inside my letter. Could you give it to your mum? Thanks.

Sirius feels really bad about breaking your leg. I keep trying to tell him that Madam Pomfrey would have it fixed up in no time once you got back to school, but Sirius still blames himself for how you and Hermione had to go to St. Mungo's. Is Hermione okay? Sirius says that she was perfectly okay when he left, so he doesn't know why they took her to St. Mungo's either. Why did they take her too? Was she hurt after we left? She was okay when I last saw her, but that night is fuzzy. I was really scared because Sirius couldn't transform and explain everything to me or the werewolf would eat him.

The full moon is coming up in two days and I'm really scared, but don't tell Sirius or Remus. I think Remus is scared too. He and Sirius are setting up a room that will keep Remus and me in. Sirius keeps trying to cheer us up, but it's not working.

Remus says that your mum might not let you write back. I hope you can convince her to let you and I hope your summer is going well,

Harry

* * *

20 July 1994

Hermione,

I'm sorry it took me so long to write you a letter. Sirius has been trying to convince me to write you, but I don't want to bother you. You're probably busy having fun or researching or having fun researching all sorts of things. I don't know if you get The Daily Prophet while you're in the muggle world, so I'll fill you in on a few things that happened. Me, Sirius, and Remus are all wanted by the Ministry, especially Sirius and Remus. The Ministry thinks they kidnapped me, but they didn't, I promise. I want to stay with them. Nobody believes that Sirius didn't betray my parents or murder all those muggles, but Sirius says that he never expected anyone to believe him anyways. I think he hoped people would believe him. I hope you still believe him. The Daily Prophet said that he confounded you in the Shrieking Shack, but he didn't. Everything you saw and heard was real. Peter Pettigrew is still alive. Sirius is innocent.

Sirius is worried that you got hurt after he left. What happened? Why were you taken to St. Mungo's? Were you hurt?

I'm sorry if I made you worry about me when the werewolf dragged me off. I'm okay now so you don't have to worry. You probably already figured out that I'm a werewolf now and probably know more about werewolves than I do by now. You always know everything. I'm okay now, but my face and arm aren't quite healed yet. I have to stop a lot while I'm writing to rest my arm. Remus says that even though he can stop the injuries from bleeding, they're not going to heal until after my first transformation. They hurt a lot and they hurt even worse now because the full moon is in two days. Remus and Sirius are working on preparing a room so Remus and I don't hurt anyone.

I would come visit, but I don't want to leave Sirius and Remus alone. I don't want to risk the Ministry finding me and not letting me go back. Most of all, I don't want to hurt you or anyone, so I'm going to stay with Sirius and Remus. They won't let me hurt anyone on accident. Sirius doesn't like my decision, but Remus made him stop trying to persuade me to visit you or Ron. I think Remus feels the same way I do, but he knows better than to let Sirius know.

Sirius really takes care of both of us. He gets food, makes it, and cleans everything up. I think he's trying to forget about his time in Azkaban by keeping busy. Remus feels really guilty that he bit me as a werewolf. Sirius keeps telling Remus that it's not his fault, that it was an accident, but Remus doesn't believe him. Remus is always a lot more sensible, so I'm starting to think that Remus may be right.

Remus said that all his friends, except my dad and Sirius, stopped being his friends when they found out he was a werewolf. I hope you'll still be my friend.

I hope you are having a great summer,

Harry

P.S. Remus says you're not allowed to ask me any questions about being a werewolf. If you want to ask questions, you have to ask him instead and he'll answer them.

* * *

20 July 1994

Molly and Arthur Weasley,

I sincerely apologize for any harm I caused your son, Ron, during our encounter last month. It was not my intent and I sincerely regret that he was injured. Although I admit that it is a paltry token of penance, I have arranged for the costs of Ron's time at St. Mungo's to be reimbursed to you from my own accounts.

I also write to you on behalf of my godson, Harry. Please do not bar Ron from exchanging letters with Harry. I will not interfere with their communication. Harry has too few friends for my liking, please do not take away another friend from him.

Thank you,

Sirius Black

* * *

 **Auror Incident Report**

 **Auror(s) responding:** _Kingsley Shacklebolt, John Dawlish_

 **Nature of disturbance:** _Information on missing persons and wanted suspects_

 **Location:** _The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole_

 **Date:** _21 July 1994_

 **Reported by:** _Molly Weasley_

 **Situation reported:** _Mrs. Weasley called the aurors when her youngest son, Ronald, delivered to her a letter signed by Sirius Black, a wanted felon._

 **Person(s) involved:** _Molly Weasley (housewife), Ronald (Ron) Weasley(minor), William (Bill) Weasley (cursebreaker for Gringotts), Charlie Weasley (dragon tamer, resides in Romania), Sirius Black (wanted), and Harry Potter (minor, missing person)_

 **Auror's report:** _Upon arrival, Mrs. Weasley handed over the letter from Sirius Black and her son's confiscated letter, which was signed by Harry Potter, who is currently missing for reasons uncertain. The letters are attached. Ronald was loudly demanding the return of his letter and his older brothers, William and Charlie Weasley, had to physically restrain him from attempting to take the letter back by force. Auror Dawlish attempted to question Ronald about the letter, but it was quickly apparent that the boy had not had the opportunity to read it and knew nothing more about Potter, Black, or Lupin than what he had divulged during previous interviews. A ward was set up to redirect all owl post from the fugitive to the Auror Department._

 **Additional Notes:** _In the letter, Potter does not appear to be under any duress from Black or Lupin. Aurors Dawlish and Shacklebolt agree that Potter is with Lupin and Black under his own initiative. Molly Weasley has reported that Ronald's temper has been near exploding since he returned home from St. Mungo's. Several times, the boy has lost his temper with his parents and expressed the wish that Black and Lupin would "rescue me from my family too." He has repeatedly defended Black and Lupin in front of his family, insisting that Black is innocent of betrayal and murder and Lupin's attack on Potter was simply an accident. He vocally blames The Daily Prophet and the Ministry for forcing Black, Lupin, and Potter into hiding. St. Mungo's final report states that Ronald's mind was in no way tampered with during his encounter with Sirius Black. The youngest Weasley, Ginevra (Ginny), is apparently convinced that Ronald is telling the truth. Two of Ronald's older brothers claim that Ronald's story is odd, but it could be true. They believe him that Black is innocent of the original crimes he committed but are uncertain of whether Black is still a good wizard, claiming that "he spent twelve years locked up with the worst psychos in Britain." Ronald has shown considerable tenacity against the remainder of his family attempting to persuade him that he is wrong to defend Black, Lupin, and Potter. Ronald's further communication with friends from school will be monitored by his parents._

 **Follow-up report:** _Ronald has exchanged several letters with Hermione Granger (minor). They are made up entirely by a collection of dots, resembling a muggle code called Braille, however, the code has been altered so using the Braille key produces only gibberish. At some point,presumably while both were together in St. Mungo's, Miss Granger and Ronald memorized the key and appear to read it fluently. It is unknown how long they have been exchanging letters in this fashion. Miss Granger has been questioned and indicated that she has received a message from Potter but claims to have burned it. She has not attempted to respond to Potter's letter and a similar ward was placed on her house of residence and her parents have agreed to hand over any communication that arrives via muggle post._

* * *

Author's _note: Don't forget to review and let me know what you think! Next update is July 22nd!_

 _ **UP NEXT:** Molly Weasley's reply!_


	4. 22 July 1994

22 July 1994

Sirius, Remus, and Harry sat around the breakfast table, silently staring at their food. Harry moved his breakfast around his plate and Remus hadn't even looked at it since Sirius set it in front of him. Only Sirius had eaten anything. The window was left open hopefully, anxiously awaiting Hedwig's return. Harry was the first to catch sight of the snowy owl swooping inside, but his face fell when she dropped the letter in front of Sirius. The envelope was bright red. Before Sirius could even touch it, the envelope opened and Molly Weasley's voice filled the room.

"SIRIUS BLACK! HOW DARE YOU ABDUCT A BOY FROM SCHOOL AND FEED LIES TO HIS FRIENDS! HOW DARE YOU TAKE HIM AWAY FROM HIS FAMILY WITHOUT EVEN A NOTICE! WAS IT NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU TO BETRAY HIS PARENTS?"

Remus stood up and hurried around the table, unsuccessfully trying to pull Sirius out of the room. The man was rooted to his chair.

"THIS SHOW YOU'RE PUTTING ON ABOUT CARING FOR HARRY IS FOOLING NO ONE. IF YOU REALLY CARED ABOUT HIM, YOU WOULD BRING HIM BACK TO HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY, NOT KEEP HIM LOCKED AWAY AND HIDDEN."

Remus succeeded in pulling Sirius to his feet but froze when the letter addressed him.

"REMUS LUPIN, YOU ARE A SORRY EXCUSE FOR A MAN! IT WAS HIGHLY IRRESPONSIBLE FOR YOU TO HIDE YOUR LYCANTHROPY FROM THE STUDENTS. YOU COULD HAVE HURT SOMEONE! YOU DID HURT SOMEONE. YOU INFECTED YOUR BEST FRIEND'S SON WITH YOUR CURSE."

Harry stood up and pointed his wand at the Howler. " _Silencio_!" He snarled, but the spell had no effect.

"JAMES POTTER WOULD NEVER HAVE PUT A CHILD OF YOURS AT SUCH RISK, BUT YOU DID SO WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT, AND NOW YOU CONVINCE THE BOY HE CAN'T RETURN TO HIS LIFE! YOU'RE AS MUCH OF A TRAITOR TO THE POTTERS AS BLACK IS!

" _Incendio_!" Harry shouted, but the flames didn't even singe the parchment.

"IF EITHER OF YOU TRULY CARE ABOUT HARRY OR DOING THE RIGHT THING, YOU WILL BRING HIM HOME AND TURN YOURSELVES OVER TO THE MINISTRY THIS INSTANT!"

Everything fell silent. Sirius and Remus turned to look at Harry.

"I won't go back," Harry stated, pointing his wand at them. "I won't go back. You can't make me."

"Harry—" Sirius croaked. He pulled away from Remus and pushed Harry's wand to the side, pulling the boy into a tight hug. After a moment, Harry relaxed against him and hugged him back.

"Please don't leave me," Harry begged.

"I won't leave you, Harry. I promise I won't leave you."

Remus reached out uncertainly and put a hand on Sirius' shoulder. Harry let go of Sirius and hugged Remus. "I'm scared," He admitted as Remus smoothed his hair. It was too quiet for Sirius to hear.

"I know," Remus responded. "I'm scared of it too."

"I don't want Sirius to get hurt."

"He won't, I promise."

"But—"

"It's one promise I can keep. As long as you listen to him, he won't get hurt."

Remus tightened his grip on Harry and turned to Sirius. "I know what you're thinking, right now, Sirius. You're wondering if Harry would be better treated elsewhere. He won't be. You know how they treated me. They won't treat him any better. The Wizarding World hates werewolves. You've read the articles in the Prophet and you know what they already think of him. They turned against him the moment Dumbledore revealed his lycanthropy."

Remus waited a long minute before speaking again.

"Come on, Harry, your wounds are starting to bleed again. Let's go fix them." He didn't give Harry a choice as he steered him out of the dining room.

That evening, all three were gathered in the deepest part of the basement.

Harry sat against one wall, his knees to his chest. His transformation started first and Sirius shifted into his dog form. Harry let out a piteous whine as Lupin began to snarl in the throes of his own transformation. The young werewolf remained lying on the ground once the transformation finished, breathing heavily and not moving. Sirius nuzzled it and barked, but the young werewolf barely twitched. The older werewolf trotted over. After a low growl sent Sirius scrambling out of the way, it sniffed at the younger male.

The older werewolf growled playfully and nipped at the younger werewolf's muzzle. The younger werewolf's tail weakly beat the floor a few times. Slowly, the younger werewolf dragged itself to its feet. It was unsteady at first, but after a few tries, it gained more confidence in its actions and in minutes was bouncing around the large room and playing with the other two as if nothing had been wrong.

* * *

 _Author's note: Next update is August 15th!_

 ** _UP NEXT:_** _Daily Prophet articles about our favorite fugitives!_


	5. 15 August 1994

15 August 1994

 **HARRY POTTER CAPTURED!**

By Erica Conall

Last night, a vicious, ward-breaker storm ripped through part of London. These storms are rare, but dangerous. They are considered 'ward-breaking' storms because they occur when wards remain improperly anchored for an extended period of time. They can destroy nearly all spells within a several-kilometer radius. The more severe the storm, the longer the wards were maintained. Ministry officials estimate that the wards which created this storm have been maintained for nearly two months. The storm originated above the childhood home of Sirius Black—where Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black have been hiding since their escape from Hogwarts. After a deadly duel between the aurors and the three fugitives, Potter was the first to fall from a dangerous cutting curse. Reporters arrived just before Black and Lupin escaped. Potter, still conscious and fighting, was seized by the aurors, his wand confiscated, and apparated to St. Mungo's, where he is currently held in a high-security ward. As soon as Potter vanished but before anti-apparition wards could be set up, Black grabbed Lupin and apparated away to an unknown location. His parting words were, "We'll get him back and you'll pay if he has even a scratch when we find him!" With only six days until the full moon, aurors are scrambling to create a secure place for Potter to undergo the werewolf transformation as well as a place where Black and Lupin cannot abduct him again.

Auror Rufus Scrimgeour said, "Potter is in danger, and is a threat to both himself and others. Until we can determine the extent of Black and Lupin's influence over him, special accommodations have to be made. Once we get him settled, you can ask him all the questions you like."

H | P

20 August 1994

 **Harry Potter's First Interview**

By Erica Conall

After a thorough security check, I was finally allowed to see Harry Potter in person. It has been said that Harry Potter's most notable feature was his lightning-shaped scar, but it makes me wonder how many people have actually seen him. His most striking feature is his eyes. They are bright green and incredibly expressive. His trademark scar has faded. According to Potter's teachers and classmates, his scar was bright red, but now, it only a normal scar, only a few shades lighter than his skin. Three parallel and startling white scars from a werewolf's claw mars the entire left side of his face. His right forearm is mangled with similar white scars from overlapping bite marks.

At first, he doesn't seem to notice when I enter the room. He is sitting up on the hospital bed and staring at the wall in front of him. His hospital gown is twisted uncomfortably around his chest and he's sweating underneath the heavy blanket across his legs. When the auror enters behind me, he turns and looks directly at me. I wonder why he hasn't straightened his shirt or thrown off the blankets, but then I see the leather straps around his wrists, restraining him to the hospital bed.

He studies me as I introduce myself and take a seat on the stool beside the bed.

Harry Potter (P): I read your articles in the Prophet.

Conall (C): Do you have an opinion on them?

P: They're just ink and paper. I have an opinion on you.

C: You look uncomfortable under those blankets. Would you like me to take them?

P: You're close enough, filth.

C: Excuse me?

P: That's what you called Remus for only being a werewolf. I suppose I can call you that for only being a human, right?

C: Mr. Potter—

P: Don't scold me. In case you've forgotten, I'm a werewolf too. Every insult you've thrown at Remus for his curse applies to me as well. Miss Conall, if you want a civil conversation, think very carefully about what you say next.

(I am struck dumb by his words. He never accused me of anything, but he didn't have to. He didn't even have to raise his voice. It doesn't take me long to figure out what he wants to hear.)

C: It seems that I owe you an apology, Mr. Potter.

P: Perhaps, but perhaps I'm just "a misguided boy searching for a cause" and it's not my fault that cause is "defending a traitorous lunatic and a vicious beast."

(Potter closes his eyes and looks up at the ceiling. The interview is clearly over and I cannot persuade Potter to say anything more. After the door closes behind me, I turn to my auror escort, Rufus Scrimgeour.)

C: Auror Scrimgeour, do you have any comment on what Potter said?

Rufus Scrimgeour (S): Ever since he calmed down enough to stop fighting us and screaming at everyone, we haven't been able to persuade him to say anything.

C: He was violent?

S: Not exactly. He has us utterly bewildered. We checked his wand for every spell he's cast since he left school. First, we have no idea how he's been managing magic outside school without detection. Neither Black nor Lupin have used his wand since they escaped the Forbidden Forest. The most advanced spell he's cast since school was the Patronus Charm, which he mastered near the end of the school year. There were no dark spells or anything else beyond what the Hogwarts curriculum teaches.

C: His tongue was sharp in there, but I can't imagine him mindlessly swearing. What was he screaming?

S: He was begging us to let him go. He calmed down once the healers sedated him and hasn't said a word since, except what he said to you.

C: Is he sedated now?

S: No, it's been nearly thirty-six hours since the sedative wore off. Potter is under the influence of nothing and no one. The boy you met is Potter and only Potter.

C: Mr. Potter indicated that we are mistaken about him, Black, and Lupin. Is the Auror Department considering that perhaps Black may be innocent of the crimes he is accused of?

S: After dueling him and seeing the loyalty of Potter's school friends, there are individuals within the department that have begun to accept the possibility.

C: What is your personal opinion?

S: I'm willing to believe that Pettigrew is alive, but I can't believe that until the rest of Black's story makes sense. What Weasley and Granger testified is not the entire truth.

C: What do you mean?

S: No human can get near a transformed werewolf without the creature attacking. A werewolf would never work with a human the way the Granger girl described—not even under the Imperious Curse. A werewolf never gives up on its prey, although they have been known to abduct and eat younger victims. Ronald Weasley should not be alive. If anything, he should be in Potter's place.

C: But Remus Lupin is a werewolf, correct?

S: Yes. We have the testimony of almost a dozen individuals who can confirm that Remus Lupin is a werewolf. Although we cannot know for certain until the full moon, I can say with confidence that he passed the curse on to Potter.

C: I have another question about Potter's legendary scar.

S: Go ahead, however, I don't know much about it.

C: The scar on his forehead. It looks different than it has been described before.

S: You're correct. According to his friends and classmates, Potter often experienced pain in his scar. There are remnants of incredibly dark and parasitic magic in his scar—magic so dark that we can't even begin to identify it. The lycanthropy has destroyed nearly all of it. Healers estimate that all of the dark magic will be destroyed before September.

C: Does it have something to do with the killing curse Potter survived as a baby?

S: Yes. While I do not doubt that Sirius Black is a powerful wizard, he is not powerful enough to cast such dark magic. Even the Black family refused to delve to such cursed depths. The Auror Department is working to figure out what kind of magic it is, however, we are not hopeful. Our talents lie in stopping Dark Wizards, not studying their magic. Miss Conall, while it was a pleasure speaking with you, I have other duties to attend to. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

C: Thank you, Auror Scrimgeour.

Nothing has been edited or changed in this conversation. It has given the Wizarding World much to think about.

* * *

 _Author's note: Next update is September 1st!_

 ** _UP NEXT:_** _Transcripts of the interrogations of Harry James Potter._


	6. 1 September 1994

**Interrogation of Mr. Harry James Potter by Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt on 1 September 1994 at Detention Center 2, Interrogation Room 4**

Auror: Good afternoon, Mr. Potter.

Potter: Afternoon.

A: Are you willing to speak with me today?

P: Not particularly, but you're not going to give up, are you, Kingsley?

A: It's Auror Shacklebolt to you, Mr. Potter.

P: I'll call you whatever I please. It's not like I can get in any more trouble. You're not petty enough to rain fire on my head for a little disrespect.

A: Do you know where you are, Mr. Potter?

P: Somewhere, nowhere, I've quit caring.

A: Do you know why you're here?

P: Because I'm a werewolf and the Wizarding World hates werewolves so they lock them up in little boxes with no sunshine.

A: Do you know the other reason?

P: Because I'm not on the Hogwarts Express? That's not exactly my fault considering I've been locked up in one of your dingy cells downstairs for how long? Two weeks? Three?

A: Don't play dumb.

P: Maybe I'm here because I was spending time with two of my father's best friends, both of whom are also hated by the entire Wizarding World because of lies spread about their character.

A: Are you referring to Sirius Black and Remus Lupin?

P: No, why would I ever associate with the only two adults who don't have a grudge against me?

A: Enough sarcasm, Mr. Potter.

P: Then don't lie to me.

A: I haven't lied to you, Mr. Potter.

P: You're lying right now. Don't pretend to respect me because I know you don't. Stop pretending I'm just a stubborn kid because I know you don't give a damn.

A: What makes you think that?

P: Give me my wand.

A: I can't do that.

P: I know it's in your pocket right now, I saw it when you sat down. How about you release me from these restraints?

A: I can't do that.

P: Why? Because I'm a werewolf? Sorry to disappoint, you, Kingsley, but I only have scary powers on the full moon.

[Silence stretches for nearly five minutes]

A: If I release you from your restraints, what will you do?

P: Tear your throat out like some sort of cliché savage.

A: Enough with the sarcasm, Mr. Potter. Answer honestly.

P: Nothing, I guess. I'm not stupid enough to pick a fight I can't win. At least, I'm not stupid enough to do it here.

A: I guess we'll see. We'll continue this chat tomorrow, Mr. Potter. Please be on your best behavior.

A: Proudfoot, please escort Mr. Potter back to his quarters.

P: Just call it what it is, Kingsley. It's a jail cell.

A: There is no need for the shackles or your wand, Proudfoot. Mr. Potter has decided to cooperate today.

H | P

 **Interrogation of Mr. Harry James Potter by Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt on 2 September 1994 at Detention Center 2, Interrogation Room 1**

Auror: Good afternoon, Mr. Potter.

Potter: Are you scared of me too? Grr.

A: You're in a good mood today. I've had the displeasure of meeting Fenrir Greyback. If you want to scare me, Mr. Potter, you'll have to do better than that. Would you like to sit down?

P: Would you like to stand up?

A: Not particularly. It's been a long day.

P: I've had nothing to do all day. It'd be great to be able to practice magic for a little while.

A: It's too dangerous.

P: I'm flattered you think I'm capable of breaking out. Can I go outside for a little while?

A: It's too dangerous.

P: Again, I'm flattered you think I can run fast enough to escape hit wizards with their wands trained on me. I did notice, by the way. I noticed when my guards changed. In case you've forgotten, I'm wandless and fourteen. It doesn't take five hit wizards to keep me locked up.

A: What are you willing to tell me about Sirius Black, Mr. Potter?

P: It's not like you're going to listen to anything I want to tell you, so I don't care to waste my breath.

A: Assuming that what your friend reported witnessing on the night of the twenty-third of June is true, how did Mr. Black manage to befriend a werewolf?

P: Sirius told me that he jumped on Remus' bed until he agreed to be friends during their first year at Hogwarts.

A: Don't get smart with me, Mr. Potter.

P: Or what?

A: How did Mr. Black befriend a transformed werewolf?

P: Same way he escaped Azkaban and the same way he got into Hogwarts without detection.

A: And how did he manage those feats?

P: He never did it.

A: Please refrain from sarcastic comments, Mr. Potter—

P: You can ask me all you want. I want Sirius to stay free so I'm not going to tell you. If you ever figure it out, you'll kick yourself.

A: Very well. What are you willing to tell me about Mr. Lupin?

P: It wasn't his fault the werewolf bit me.

A: How do you know it wasn't intentional?

P: You didn't see him after the transformation wore off.

A: And this convinced you?

P: It wasn't just that. I spent two months living with him. I saw how he looked at me whenever he thought I wasn't looking—the way he can barely look at the scars on my face.

A: Are you sure—

P: I knew you wouldn't believe me. I don't know why I tried. May I leave?

A: Proudfoot will bring you back.

P: Auror Shacklebolt, those hit wizards aren't there to keep me in. Who are they trying to keep out? You may say otherwise, but you know Sirius and Remus won't hurt anyone. They would never hurt me.

A: That's enough for today, Mr. Potter.

H | P

 **Interrogation of Mr. Harry James Potter by Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt on 3 September 1994 at Detention Center 2, Interrogation Room 1**

Potter: Shouldn't you be investigating what happened instead of trying to get me to betray Sirius and Remus?

Auror: Remus Lupin was responsible for—

P: That wasn't Remus.

A: You hit your head, Mr. Potter—

P: I know what I saw. That wasn't Remus! Remus' teeth are not pointed and his eyes are not blue.

A: He was partially transformed—

P: A werewolf only transforms on the full moon! It was not a full moon last night!

A: Auror Proudfoot was—

P: He's not a werewolf if that's what you're worried about. _Obligo_ will close up the wounds and they'll start healing after the full moon. A werewolf can only transform on the full moon and then can only infect someone while transformed.

A: I'm aware, however—

P: It wasn't Remus or Sirius who broke in last night! If it was, I wouldn't be sitting here with a hole in my stomach, I would be long gone!

A: Calm down, Mr. Potter, it's only a few scratches.

P: Get your head out of your ass, stop bothering me, and start looking for the right person!

A: Control yourself, Mr. Potter, or you will be restrained.

P: I'm in control. You're the one who won't listen to reason! Let go of me you bastards! Let me go! I won't let you catch them!

A: HARRY POTTER! STOP THAT THIS INSTANT! You will do exactly what I say, Mr. Potter and you will not be given a second chance. Let go of Auror Williamson and stand up slowly. Thank you. Now turn around and put both hands on the wall above your head. Thank you. Auror Williamson, please take the chains off the table and put them on Mr. Potter.

P: Remus wasn't here last night. Neither was Sirius. You're chasing the wrong people. They didn't do anything. Don't touch me!

A: Mr. Potter!

P: Shut up! Just shut up!

A: Auror Williamson, are you injured? No? Good. I'll take it from here. Mr. Potter, I'm going to leave you a few minutes to compose yourself. When you are ready to continue, put on the chains and have a seat. I will return then.

[Thirty-five minutes pass before words are spoken again.]

A: I see you have calmed down, Mr. Potter. Well done. We will not be discussing Mr. Black or Mr. Lupin any further today.

P: Then what is there to talk about?

A: Professor Dumbledore has expressed a desire to speak with you.

P: I don't want anything to do with him, if that's what you're asking. He doesn't care.

A: You will find that he indeed cares a great deal. Will you hear what he has to say tomorrow?

P: I don't have much of a choice, do I?

A: In fact, Mr. Potter, you do. He said he would not trouble you if you don't wish to speak with him.

P: I don't care. He can do what he wants.

A: I understand. That is all for today Mr. Potter. I will escort you back to your quarters, but you will wake up elsewhere. We are moving you to a safer location.

P: It'll still be a jail cell. It doesn't matter.

H | P

 _Department of Mysteries, Holding Cells – 4 September 1994_

Harry sat on the bed in the corner of the cell, staring at the wall in front of him and leaning on the wall to his right. Where a wall should have been behind him, there were only iron bars as thick as his wrist. He wore plain grey robes and his shoes were neatly tucked under the bed. On the opposite side of the room was a toilet and sink. Facing into the hallway was a small desk with several haphazard stacks of books. Half of them were fourth-year Hogwarts textbooks. The other half were miscellaneous fiction thrillers and Defense Against the Dark Arts books.

The silence was broken by an Auror's voice. "Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore is here to see you. Put these on."

Chains dangled from the Auror's hand. "I'm not an animal, Auror Proudfoot, so don't chain me up like one." Harry responded without moving. "I can hear Professor Dumbledore just fine through the bars."

Proudfoot turned to the man beside him, who was dressed in silvery-blue robes that seemed to glimmer in the light. "I'm sorry, Professor. He's not normally like this. It was a rough day yesterday."

"It is perfectly okay, Auror Proudfoot. I do not believe that Mr. Potter means anyone harm."

"I understand; however, I can't let you into the cell while he's unrestrained."

"That is fine. I can speak to him just as easily from here. Thank you."

"I'll wait over here. If you need anything, Professor, I'll be just over here." The Auror awkwardly withdrew the chains, hung them across one of the horizontal bars of the cell, and retreated about ten meters down the hall. He was close enough to hear everything, but far enough away to give the feeling if privacy.

Dumbledore turned to Harry.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter."

Harry didn't respond.

"I suppose it would be silly for me to ask if you are comfortable here. It seems a rather dull place to spend your day." Dumbledore waved his wand and conjured an armchair to sit in when Harry continued to give no response, although he was clearly listening. "I see you've had access to something to read. Did you request those particular books, or just something to read?"

"Mad-Eye gave them to me."

"I see. Has he come to visit you often?"

"You already know the answer to that, Professor."

"I see. I suppose I owe you an explanation for never visiting."

When no response came, Dumbledore continued.

"Since you are a minor with no wizarding relatives, you are automatically declared a ward of the Ministry. Most minors who are infected with lycanthropy are either hidden or rejected from their families, thus end up a ward of the state, just like you. They are them offered a place in one of the British werewolf colonies. I believe Mr. Lupin spent several years in a werewolf colony while you were growing up. If circumstances were less dangerous, you would have been sent to find a place there. The Ministry officially still insists that Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin are guilty of various crimes. Currently, you are the bait of a trap for them."

Harry's shoulders hunched, but he said nothing.

"Since you were not imprisoned through any fault of your own, I feared my presence may have only made everything more difficult for everyone involved. Things changed when, two days ago, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger approached me with a request."

When Dumbledore paused, Harry spent a moment processing the statement. Before Harry could jump to conclusions, Dumbledore continued.

"Your friends have missed you desperately, Harry. They came to me with a request to visit you. I told them that I would inquire into the matter and do what I could to grant their request. Mr. Potter, your friends have had a trying summer. As you are already aware, very few people believe their stories, and no one, save Mr. Weasley's younger sister, entirely believes everything they are claiming. Regrettably, not even I am fully convinced of their story. They searched the Hogwarts Express for you several times over while looking for you before they realized that you may not be attending Hogwarts this year."

Harry continued to give no answer, but he pulled his knees to his chest and rested his chin on his knees.

"I have spoken with the two aurors handling your case and they decided that if precautions were taken, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger would be allowed to visit on the next Hogsmeade weekend. That is, if you agree to see them."

"I don't want to see them."

"Mr. Potter, you have nothing to fear. Your friends simply want to spend time with you." Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair.

"I don't care. I won't see them."

"Why?"

Without warning, Harry smoothly stood from the bed and turned to face Dumbledore, taking two steps toward the man and prompting the Auror to draw his wand. Dumbledore flinched backwards from a combination of surprise and alarm at Harry's movement and the scars on his face that seemed to glow, even though his face was shrouded in shadows.

"Despite what you may think, I didn't spend the months with Sirius and Remus just hiding in Grimmauld Place. I walked around London quite a bit. My face was on every street corner. No one recognized me because of these scars. Professor, every single person with the courage to look me in the eye had the same expression of pity and disgust as soon as they saw these scars. I'd rather not have my memories of Ron and Hermione tainted."

"The last time they saw you, you were screaming and covered in blood, dragged away by the creature of their nightmares."

"I am the creature of their nightmares now, Professor. They say they don't care that I'm a werewolf, but they haven't come face-to-face with one since Remus transformed in front of them. I'd rather not have my memories of Ron and Hermione tainted."

Dumbledore studied Harry carefully. Just before Harry was about to sit back down, he spoke evenly. "You must be lonely here."

"I talk to Proudfoot." Harry shrugged.

"Until today, he hasn't said a word to anyone but Shacklebolt since he left the hospital," the auror contradicted sourly.

"Shut up," Harry snapped and fell down on his bed, his back facing the adults.

"Stuff it, kid, and talk to your friends. You're lucky you still have some." Proudfoot scowled.

"No."

Dumbledore sighed and stood up, vanishing his armchair. "I will speak with Auror Shacklebolt about what to do, Mr. Potter."

"Even if you bring them here, I won't speak with them."

"We will see. Good bye, Mr. Potter. Enjoy your day."

Harry's fist tightened on his sheets but gave no other response.

* * *

 _Author's note: I'm so sorry this update is far later than I intended! I completely forgot about it and I have no excuse. I will try to be on time next week. Next update is (scheduled for) September 17th!_

 ** _UP NEXT:_** _An interesting reunion!_


	7. 17 September 1994

_Auror Department, Main Hallway – 17 September 1994_

"Ron! Ron, can you believe it?" Hermione asked excitedly, clinging to her best friend's arm as Auror Shacklebolt lead them down the hallway.

"I know! You've asked me that five times already!"

"Mr. Weasley. Miss Granger." Shacklebolt said as he stopped in front of a nondescript black door without a handle. "It has already been explained to you that Mr. Potter is not the same person you went to school with. His trials have changed him."

"You mean, the trials you put him through," Ron grumbled under his breath.

"If the Ministry hadn't blabbed to the Prophet, Harry would have been able to come back to school," Hermione stated imperiously.

Shacklebolt shook his head in exasperation. "If at any time you wish to leave the room, or feel threatened in any way, simply press your palm against the wall or the floor and you will be transported to a room where I will be waiting. Do the same when you are finished visiting. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," they chorused.

"You will go through this door, then there is a door directly opposite. Go through that door. Mr. Potter is in there. Please close the door immediately upon entering. I will warn you that Mr. Potter is not expecting you." Shacklebolt tapped the door with his wand. It swung open silently and Ron and Hermione entered, walking straight toward the opposite door as the first one closed behind them.

Ron wrenched open the door in excitement, only to stop in shock. Hermione ducked under Ron's arm, but was similarly stunned. Harry's hands were clenched into fists and chained to the table with only a few inches of slack.

He briefly glanced towards them but didn't turn his head. There were bags under the eye they could see and his hand had an intermittent tremor. After a few seconds, he shivered and leaned forward to lay his head on the table and close his eyes.

"Harry?" Hermione spoke first, but Ron was the first to take a few steps forward and tug on the shoulder of Harry's robes.

"Hey, mate, it's us. We've missed you." The door snapped shut with a loud bang, which made Ron and Hermione jump, but Harry wasn't startled. He didn't twitch at the noise.

Hermione stepped forward, pulling out her wand. She waved her wand over the manacle on his wrist. " _Alohomora_." Nothing happened. She waved her wand again in a more complicated pattern. " _Aberto_."

"Not going to work," Harry muttered. "Cut it out."

" _Liber_!" Hermione exclaimed after an even more complicated wand motion. She grit her teeth in frustration. " _Diffindo_!"

Harry yelped and jerked upright, yanking himself out of the path of the spell, only to see that Ron grabbed her wrist to stop her from casting it.

"Hermione! You could've hit Harry with that!"

Hermione ignored Ron and turned to Harry. "Now that you're acknowledging us, can we at least have a 'hello'?"

"No. Now go away."

"Harry—"

"Don't talk to your friends like that, mate."

"I'll talk however I please, Weasley. You're not supposed to be here, and I don't want you here. Go away."

"We're your friends Harry. Didn't you get our letter?"

"Eventually," Harry muttered crossly as Hermione put her wand away. "After the Aurors picked through it looking for clues about Sirius and Remus."

Hermione gasped. "They can't _do that_!"

Harry lifted up his hands and rattled the chains. "I'm a minor, in 'protective' custody, and ward of the Ministry. They can do what they want to me, save causing me physical harm without provocation."

Hermione lunged forward and hugged Harry tightly, albeit awkwardly with both his hands chained to the table. He cringed away from the gesture.

"Ron and I are working on—"

Harry rose sharply and with a tremendous jerk, one of the chain links snapped and Harry pressed a hand tightly over her mouth. Hermione glanced between the chain and Harry in alarm. Ron had tensed but didn't come to Hermione's defense. Harry kept his face angled away from them the entire time.

"Everything we say is being written down right now," Harry informed her, releasing her mouth to point at the wall beside where they came in. There was a quill scribbling on a roll of parchment. "There are probably a couple aurors, that annoying healer, and probably a few teachers observing from behind a wall, like in those muggle cop shows."

"How did you break that chain?" Hermione demanded.

"It doesn't matter," Harry said as he sat back down. "Good luck, Hermione, but as far as I can tell, I'll be spending the full moon alone until I'm seventeen. You'd be better off focusing on learning the Patronus charm and other Defense spells instead."

"She's working on the other thing," Ron informed him. "I'm working on the defensive stuff. We're learning as much as we can this year then we'll teach each other next year."

"O.W.L.S. are next year," Harry muttered darkly.

"I know, mate, but it's easier to learn something with someone teaching you, so we'll be fine. At least, Hermione says so."

"You're actually studying, Ron?" Harry asked in amazement.

"Anything to get you out of here and back to Hogwarts, mate."

"I can't go back to Hogwarts. Everyone knows I'm a werewolf."

"We're changing their minds, Harry," Ron declared with confidence. "We've already changed all the Gryffindors' minds and most of the Hufflepuffs didn't care in the first place. I think they feel bad about how they treated you in second year. Hermione is working on the Ravenclaws but we're not too hopeful about the Slytherins. The teachers already don't care, and McGonagall let slip that there's been two werewolves who have attended while she's taught."

"If most of the school agrees that you should come back, then you can come back!"

Harry sighed and slumped over the table. "Do what you want. I can't stop you."

"Do you have a better idea?" Hermione huffed, crossing her arms, her hair appearing even bushier in her agitation.

Harry only closed his eyes. After a minute, during which Ron and Hermione stared at him with a mixture of hurt and confusion, Shacklebolt opened the door. "Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, come with me please," he ordered quietly. "That's enough for today."

"But—" Hermione began to protest.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron said quietly. "Harry's exhausted and the full moon is in two days. Let's give him his rest. You remember how Professor Lupin was."

Hermione turned to Harry one last time. "We're working on figuring out the Wolfsbane too, Harry. We care about you, don't forget that."

"She's right, mate. We'll see you later, Harry."

They exited, but Shacklebolt remained and repaired the broken chains around his wrists.

H | P

20 September 1994

 **Harry Potter: A Dark Wizard?**

 **By Erica Conall**

Just yesterday, I (Erica Conall) was given the opportunity to interview Harry Potter, as well as a few of the Ministry officials involved in his case. What I've discovered has been especially chilling.

Healer Melva Thorburn, a mind healer with extensive experience in the effects of dark curses and specialist in the rehabilitation of victims of the Imperius Curse, extensively examined Harry Potter and has been monitoring his mental health since his capture by aurors. She said, "When Mr. Potter was brought in, he was screaming about how Sirius Black was innocent. The boy was so vehement that for a moment, he almost convinced me. We had to sedate him, of course. He had been hit by a nasty cutting curse and was tearing the wound further by fighting us and refusing treatment. He showed all the signs of being confounded—elevated heart rate, irrational behavior, anger, confusion, and refusal to follow orders. After he was sedated, he calmed, however, we couldn't get him to interact with the healers or the aurors. I believe he said a few words to you, Miss Conall, but he refused to acknowledge anyone else."

Healer Thorburn continued to describe Mr. Potter's condition. A full report can be found on page 9. She concluded, "I met with Mr. Potter yesterday. We're not sure what changed, but he's spoken with a handful of people. Mostly, the auror in charge of questioning him and his two friends from Hogwarts who were allowed to visit him. The dark magic in his scar was completely destroyed after he transformed in August. After a month more of testing, we can say with complete confidence that Mr. Potter in not under the influence of any magic and he is completely in his right mind. He is fully cognizant of his actions and has complete control of his faculties. His memory was not modified in any way."

I asked her why Harry Potter still claims that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin are innocent of the crimes they are wanted for.

"I don't know," she replies. "Auror Shacklebolt has managed to talk with Mr. Potter, who is occasionally willing to share what happened the night Black was confronted at Hogwarts, however, no matter how many times he retells the story of what happened, it stays remarkably the same. No matter how hard he is pressed, he refuses share more details. He's either intentionally lying or telling the truth."

"Do you think it's likely that Harry Potter is telling the truth?" I asked.

"Dumbledore himself testified that Black was the Potters' Secret Keeper. Black is the only person who could have betrayed them. Therefore, Mr. Potter has to be lying. There's no other explanation. It's Mr. Potter's word against Dumbledore's."

The next person I interviewed was Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, who has spent more than fifty hours interrogating Harry Potter. He had much to say.

"It took two weeks of interrogation to get Mr. Potter to respond to me. For those two weeks, it was like talking to a wall. He never even looked at me or spoke during that time, save a few words in his sleep. Without warning, coincidentally on the first of September, he started to converse with me. He was somewhat disrespectful and condescending at first, but he was speaking, so I let it go. I almost lost my temper with him on several occasions, but he is an intelligent kid and never pushed my temper very far. All he ever wanted was to fit in with his peers and be normal, but he's never been allowed that luxury. He's likable, albeit incredibly stubborn when he decides to pay any attention to the people around him."

I asked him what Harry Potter had to say about Sirius Black.

"Whenever Black or Lupin are mentioned, Mr. Potter becomes fiercely defensive of them. He sees both as father figures, despite the short time he's known them. We've tried to convince him of their guilt, but he's rejected nearly every explanation. His version of Black's story has a counterpoint for every piece of evidence we can present him with. There are a few flaws in his story, but according to Mr. Potter, they are not flaws, but simply information he refuses to share on the grounds that if we knew, Black would be swiftly captured. He's readily admitted to withholding information, but we're unwilling to attempt to provoke him in hope that he lets the information slip. I don't believe he harbors any malice towards the Wizarding World or the Ministry, which is why we haven't prosecuted him. Mr. Potter has claimed that he would rather go to Azkaban than betray his godfather, which is an admirable sentiment, no matter who the object of his loyalty is."

When presented with the opinion that Harry Potter could be following in his godfather's footsteps of becoming a dark wizard, Auror Shacklebolt considers his answer carefully and measures his response.

"Mr. Potter is a complex individual. While I do not believe he harbors the same hatred for the dark arts as his father was reputed to have, I believe him to be quite apathetic towards both light and dark magic. There is no light magic that can cause, reverse, or prevent death. Even sacrificial magic, which is the most likely theory for Harry's survival of the Killing Curse as an baby, is inherently dark magic, despite the good intentions behind it. Mr. Potter's lycanthropy makes him a dark creature as well. As for whether Mr. Potter is or could be a dark wizard, I don't believe anyone but Mr. Potter himself can answer that question with any certainty. He has condemned Fenrir Greyback on more than one occasion and claims that You-Know-Who survives, but he strongly opposes the philosophies of both individuals.

"While I do not condone Mr. Potter's chosen course of action, he has a growing list of grievances against the Ministry and the Wizarding World as a whole. Most of those reasons are valid to anyone who cares to take an impartial look at the situation. I won't point fingers. Instead, I want to remind everyone that Mr. Potter is only fourteen years old. He isn't yet old enough to fully understand his actions or to be fully responsible for them. Even so, he is being treated as an adult and expected to think and act as one. He is a product of what the Wizarding world has shaped him into. Perhaps we should take a look at ourselves and how we have treated Mr. Potter before accusing and condemning him. I want to remind everyone that Mr. Potter is officially in protective custody. He is not a suspect of any crime or facing any legal proceedings from the Ministry. He has done nothing wrong; only attempted to make his thoughts known. Even if his accompaniment of Black and Lupin was voluntary, at best he can be accused of running away, which is not illegal."

As I was heading to interview Mr. Potter, I bumped into Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. She was thoroughly opposed to Auror Shacklebolt's position.

"What is Potter's legal position, you ask? That is quite straightforward. As soon as we can figure out what that boy, his criminal godfather, and half-breed friend were up to during their disappearance, the Ministry will prosecute Potter to the full extent of the law. He refuses to cooperate with the Ministry and is a werewolf who cannot be trusted. His childhood fame has earned him enough special privileges. If any of his peers were to act in the same way, they would be faced with harsh penalties. His little friends are toeing the line with their little campaign in Potter's defense, but they will be faced with equally harsh strictures if their propaganda causes an incident. Forgive me, Miss Conall for cutting this short, but I simply must return to work."

Before I can ask any further questions, she hurries away. I reach the room where I am to interview Harry Potter. Before entering, I am warned that "Mr. Potter is ill from the effects of the full moon tonight and is not expecting you." As I enter, I am immediately shocked by how true the statement is. The restraints Harry Potter wore during our previous interview were absent, but he was slumped over the table and presumably asleep. I reintroduced myself and he briefly raised his head to look at me before laying his head back on the table. Before I can ask my first question, he says, "I could tell you the sky is blue, but you wouldn't believe me," he says sadly. "It's no use to say anything further, so I'm not even going to bother."

No matter what questions I ask, Harry Potter, true to his word, refuses to answer. Eventually, I give up. Has he given up on his crusade, or given up on convincing others? If Harry Potter refuses to speak in his own defense, which story should the Wizarding World believe?

* * *

 _Author's note: Next update is October 5th!_

 ** _UP NEXT:_** _A scene from Little Hangleton._


	8. 5 October 1994

_Riddle House – 5 October 1994_

"You little traitor!" Sirius screamed into the air, the moment he woke, lying beside a hearth and bound in thick ropes.

"Ah, but you're the traitor, Mr. Black. At least, that's what the Wizarding World believes." A cold high-pitched voice chilled Sirius to his bones faster and more efficiently than the presence of any dementor could. "They also say that you're the one responsible for one Harry Potter contracting lycanthropy."

"It was an accident," Sirius snarled, jerking around so he could lever himself into a moderately upright position and glare at the back of the armchair from which the voice was coming.

"Accident or not, Mr. Black, you have caused me severe hardship these past few months."

"Good," Sirius spat. "Now release me."

"In good time. You're incredibly impatient, just like your brother."

Sirius' face drained of color. "You! Regulus was loyal to you and you killed him!"

"On the contrary, I do not know the fate of young Regulus. Pity he disappeared. He was quite promising and I had just included him in my inner circle. He vanished after that disgusting elf of his died."

"Kreacher?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"I have no need to know the names of such servants."

Sirius struggled violently against the ropes binding him, but nearly fell into the fire for his efforts. He could feel his wand pressed against his chest. The rat who caught him didn't think to take his wand.

"You however, I not only know your name, but you can be of great service to me, Black. Your blood is pure, purer than many who serve me."

"There is nothing you can offer—"

"Ah, but I think there's one thing I can promise you in exchange for your service: Potter."

Sirius gritted his teeth. "You touch Harry and I'll—"

"I can free him."

Wisely, Sirius remained silent.

"You already know where young Harry is. I have a Death Eater who works in the same department where he is being held, as well as several Death Eaters within the auror ranks."

"I'll free him myself."

"I could always kill the brat instead."

"I may be ashamed to be called a Black, but I still have my pride as a _loyal_ Marauder. I'll never serve you," Sirius snarled, color rapidly returning to his face. "Harry is better off dead than you returning to power."

"Perhaps. But perhaps you'll have both. Wormtail! Prepare the ritual."

S | B

 _Little Hangleton Graveyard – 5 October 1994_

Sirius gritted his teeth, not expecting nearly-set sun when he had last thought it was only late morning. Wormtail threw him against a marble tombstone and the ropes wriggled until they bound Sirius to the tombstone.

Wormtail disappeared and Sirius looked around. In front of him was a large cauldron big enough for Sirius to sit in. He took a deep breath to shout, but Wormtail appeared out of nowhere and shoved a thick rag into his mouth, then set a bundle on the ground, which immediately began to writhe, attempting to free itself.

The warmth left Sirius' body in a rush, soaked up by the cold stone at his back, as he recognized enough of the ritual to determine its purpose. He tried to speak through the gag but could only grunt and fruitlessly struggle against the ropes that bound him.

As soon as Wormtail lit the fire underneath the cauldron, Sirius started to struggle even harder, but the ropes were too tight, too strong.

Wormtail dumped the creature writhing on the ground in the cauldron, but Sirius wasn't watching the ritual. He was searching the graveyard for anything that could help him but it was nothing more than a muggle graveyard. " _Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son_." Wormtail chanted and the grave beneath Sirius' feet cracked, a trickle of dust rising and floating into the cauldron.

Sirius managed to hook one foot over the ropes around his ankle and press it down so he could wriggle his other ankle free. It slackened the ropes slightly, so Sirius started to work the rope around his shin down his leg.

" _Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master_."

Sirius struggled to ignore Wormtail's scream as he managed to wriggle the rope off himself. He wasn't fast enough. Before Sirius could start on the next one, Wormtail turned to him.

" _Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe_." Sirius couldn't stop him. Wormtail viciously cut into the crook of his left arm, collected the blood in a vial even as Sirius continued to struggle, and tipped the vial into the cauldron.

Sirius managed to free himself from another loop of rope as a thin man stepped out of the cauldron, looking around the graveyard malevolently. Sirius' stomach churned as he forced himself to look away from the white face, whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was flat as a snake's with slits for nostrils. Sirius built up his occlumency shields that he hadn't used since the previous wizarding war. He knew they would be pitifully weak against Voldemort, but he resolved to try.

If he wanted to save Harry, if he wanted to warn the entire Wizarding World, he knew he had to escape alive, under any circumstances. Sirius closed his eyes and pictured the single hole that the Marauders had made inside the apparition wards of Hogwarts. It was supposed to have been a prank—the hole could only be used once. When the war worsened, the idea was set aside as tactless and too frightening.

Sirius bided his time as Voldemort's attention turned to Wormtail. "Hold out your arm."

Looking away from Wormtail's suffering, Sirius fell still, hoping to go unnoticed.

"How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it?" Voldemort turned to Sirius with a smirk. "And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?"

One by one, the Death eaters appeared and groveled at Voldemort's feet. Sirius stared towards the sun, willing it to reverse its course across the sky. He listened carefully, but kept his gaze pointed away, noting the names of the Death Eaters present and recognizing several more through their voices.

"Now, my friends, we have special guest here."

The ropes fell off Sirius and he stood, drawing upon all his half-forgotten pureblood upbringing. He would not let the Death Eaters see him weak or broken. He resolved to die on his feet, his wand out.

Before Voldemort could curse him, Sirius spoke, his voice far steadier and stronger than he felt. "I, Sirius Black, pureblood Heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, formally challenge you, Lord Voldemort, half-blood and Heir of Slytherin, to a Wizard's duel in presence of these witnesses. No seconds. No contact. No interference." Slowly, Sirius drew his wand and pointed it at the sky, then leveled it at Voldemort.

The Death Eaters murmured among themselves, but Sirius ignored them.

"Your answer?" Voldemort had no choice but to accept. There were too many purebloods present who heard Sirius name Voldemort's blood status. Sirius didn't care for his blood status or name, so he was ready to flee at the first opportunity the duel presented. Voldemort had no choice but to fight.

"I accept," Voldemort stated, but Sirius could feel his fury as he pointed his wand in the air then leveled it at Sirius. "You foolish Gryffindors, always picking fights you can't win."

Their bows were shallow, barely more than inclining their heads to each other. Without warning, the duel began in earnest. Sirius opened with a simple cutting curse, but that was the only spell he managed before he was struggling to deflect Voldemort's bombardment of dark curses.

For the first time, Sirius was truly thankful he had spent his childhood constantly exposed to the dark arts and a majority of his adult life reliving the terrible memories. He recognized nearly all the curses Voldemort flung at him and responded with the proper counter each time. Even though it had been thirteen years since he last had to draw upon the advanced shields James Potter had taught him, they came easily. In the back of his mind, Sirius marveled at the wand in his hand. Although it had never given him trouble with household charms, the jinxes from his duel with the aurors, or any other magic he had attempted, he could feel that the wand was built for dueling. It thrived at the challenge Voldemort presented and was determined to win.

Sirius dodged a killing curse, which exploded against the tombstone to which he had been tied. The second killing curse, however, Sirius knew he couldn't dodge. He knew it wouldn't work, but he put up his strongest shield and stood his ground, determined to die with a smile on his face. The smile quickly morphed into shock as the killing curse struck his shield, the green light flattening against it and parting around him harmlessly. The entire graveyard went perfectly silent and still. Sirius hadn't even realized the Death Eaters had been jeering at him until they fell silent in utter shock.

Sirius looked down at the wand in his hand. He had seen more powerful wizards attempt to block the killing curse with the same shield and it had failed, every time. Something about the wand had stopped the killing curse. The wand dragged his arm in a simple flourish, casting one last spell, almost of its own accord. A simple disarming charm. Voldemort's wand flew out of his hand and arched towards Sirius. He didn't wait to catch it before apparating to the location he had kept fresh in his mind. Voldemort's roar of fury seemed to echo with him as Sirius appeared in the middle of the Great Hall.

S | B

 _Hogwarts – 5 October 1994_

Students shouted and screamed in alarm as he appeared in their midst at the end of dinner. Still stunned, Sirius shuffled toward the head table. Most of the hall had their wands trained on him, but Sirius only looked at Dumbledore, letting his occlumency shields fall. When he reached the foot of the head table, the entire hall watching with bated breath, he set his wand on the table in front of Dumbledore, too scared to touch it any longer, and raised both hands into the air.

"I swear, everything I'm about to say is the truth, Professor." Sirius' sleeves fell down around his elbows, revealing the gash in the crook of his left arm and the unmarked skin of his forearms. His voice shook, his voice was tight, and his eyes burned as everything that had just occurred washed over him again and again, like vicious ocean waves dashing him against the sea floor. "It was the darkest ritual I've ever seen, and I grew up in a family steeped in dark magic. It was a resurrection ritual meant to give an existing soul a body. Bone of the father, flesh of the servant, and blood of the enemy. I told him I would never help him and then he took my blood. Professor, I don't know what to do. You-Know-Who is back—he came back and I couldn't stop him. Then—Professor, please, believe me. I didn't betray Lily and James. I would never have betrayed him. We changed secret keepers at the last second and it was Pettigrew who betrayed them. After Hagrid took Harry somewhere safe, I tracked Pettigrew down and he framed me and now he helped You-Know-Who return to his body. Please, Professor, you have to believe me! I never would have come back if it wasn't true. I never would have risked everything here if it wasn't true. You-Know-Who is back. I saw him, he took my blood. You have to believe me! He called his Death Eaters—Snape! He had to have felt his call." Sirius turned towards the end of the head table where Snape was conspicuously absent, but Sirius still begged of the empty chair. "Tell them I'm telling the truth, please! You know I'd never lie about this, I swear. He's back—You-Know-Who is back!"

Sirius turned back to meet Dumbledore's expressionless gaze, swaying where he stood. He turned to the students, falling to his knees, his hands still raised in the air.

"You have to believe me," he begged them. "Please—I never betrayed Lily and James and You-Know-Who is back because I couldn't catch the man who did betray them. Oh Merlin, I've failed. I've failed everyone. I couldn't stop it—I couldn't stop any of it. Please believe me—I don't know what else to do. Please believe…" Sirius drew a rattling breath, pitching to the side and collapsing in an unconscious heap at the front of the Great Hall.

Nobody moved for a long minute. "Prefects, please escort your houses back to their common rooms." Dumbledore ordered, his voice quiet. Slowly and silently, still in shock, the school obeyed. Even Ron and Hermione allowed one of the Gryffindor prefects to grab their arms and tug them along.

* * *

 ** _UP_ _NEXT:_** _The Daily Prophet is late to the party, but it definitely has something to say!_


	9. 6 October 1994

6 October 1994

 **Sirius Black at Hogwarts—Again!**

 **By Erica Conall**

Early this morning, a dozen parents with children at Hogwarts received letters (full copies of the letters can be found on page 14) with terrifying news. Sirius Black apparated into the middle of the Great Hall, bloody, disheveled, and distraught, then proceeded to drag himself up to stand in front of Dumbledore. He pleaded for the headmaster to believe that he was innocent of the crimes of which he is accused, but that was only the footnote of his message.

Sirius Black's message to the headmaster was that he had just witnessed You-Know-Who returning from the dead!

One Hufflepuff sixth year, Cedric Diggory, wrote to his parents: "[Sirius Black] was terrified. I was standing right in front of him; I reached out to steady him and he didn't even see me—he was reliving something else. I don't know how he was standing, his entire body was trembling so violently. Whatever he had just seen had scared him so much that he would rather face Dumbledore and capture by the Ministry. I think the only thing that was keeping him going was passing on his message to Dumbledore. He collapsed as soon as he finished."

A Ravenclaw fifth year, Marietta Edgecombe, wrote to her grandmother: "I never doubted that Black was one of You-Know-Who's followers, but now that I've seen him, heard him beg the entire school and Dumbledore to believe him, I'm starting to think that we're missing part of the story. He told everyone that You-Know-Who had returned by using his blood in a dark ritual, but it wasn't the proclamation of a triumphant follower. He was desperate. He was terrified. I've never seen an adult so scared before. I don't think I've seen anyone so scared before."

A Gryffindor third year, Ginevra (Ginny) Weasley, wrote: "Something really bad had to have happened for Black to show up at Hogwarts. He spent twelve years in Azkaban, so nothing should scare him anymore—Ron [Ronald Weasley] said that Black wasn't even scared of a werewolf! Whatever made Black so desperate is worse than Azkaban, worse than dementors. I know that adults rarely perform accidental magic, if ever, but that's the only possible way that Black could have gotten through the school wards. At least, Bill [William Weasley] said that the only way to get past the school wards is through accidental magic. Hogwarts and Dumbledore were probably the first things that crossed Black's mind as a 'safe' place."

What happened at Hogwarts last night? What exactly did Black say that garnered sympathy from every student who wrote home last night? Hogwarts is currently closed. No one, not even Ministry Aurors have been able to enter and Dumbledore cannot be reached. What is going on inside Hogwarts? Has Black taken the entire school hostage?

H | P

 **Interrogation of Mr. Harry James Potter by Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt on 6 October 1994 at the Ministry of Magic, Department of Mysteries, Holding Cells**

Auror: —orda! Potter! What the hell is going on?

Potter: Ah! What—

A: Don't you dare think of playing games with me today, boy! What the bloody hell is going on at Hogwarts?

P: Let go! You're hurting me!

A: I'll let go when you give me a straight answer!

P: About what?

A: Black! What is Black doing at Hogwarts?

P: I don't know what you're talking about!

A: I won't tolerate your nonsense or lies today, Potter!

P: You're hurting me! Let go!

A: Tell me what the bloody hell Black is doing!

P: I don't know! I don't know what's going on!

A: Bullshit, Potter! You and Black have been in bed together since day one! Stop screwing around! What is going on inside Hogwarts?

P: I don't know! I've been locked in your cage for almost two months!

A: I'm not buying your bullshit lies today, Potter! Why did Black go to Hogwarts? What is he doing there?

P: I DON'T BLOODY WELL HAVE A BLOODY CLUE WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON!

A: BLACK APPEARED AT HOGWARTS LAST NIGHT! WHY IS HE THERE? WHAT IS HE DOING?

P: I DON'T KNOW! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!

A: There! I let go. Now tell me what you know.

P: I know that you came in here screaming about Sirius and Hogwarts. I don't know why! Sirius told me the only reason he would go back to Hogwarts without his name cleared was if someone was about to attack it. That's _the only thing I know_! What the bloody hell happened? Hey! You can't just yell at me then leave! What happened?

A: Proudfoot, with me. Potter, you stay put, do you understand me? Stay in this cell and do not come out until myself or Scrimgeour come back for you. Do you understand? I will give you back your wand on two conditions. First, you stay in this cell and do not leave it without me or Scrimgeour to escort you. Second, you only use it if someone else attempts to counteract my orders. Third, you will return it the moment myself or Scrimgeour asks. Swear to me you'll do this.

P: Tell me what is going on!

A: Here, this will explain everything we know.

P: _The Daily Prophet_? What does—

A: Your oath, Potter.

P: Fine! I swear that I won't leave this cell, I won't let anyone else tell me what to do, and I'll return my wand when you ask. Now what is going on?

A: My patronus is a lynx. Scrimgeour's is a lion.

P: Don't walk away from me! What is going on? Shacklebolt! Come back and answer me! Damn you! Don't walk away from me! Shacklebolt! Proudfoot! Come back!

P: What does this mean? Voldemort's back? Shacklebolt! Come back and let me fight too! Shacklebolt! Shacklebolt! Hogwarts is my home! I won't abandon it! Shacklebolt!

[There is a silence lasting approximately three hours.]

P: Who are you?

Unknown: Where's your guard, Potter?

P: Who are you? What do you want? What is going on?

U: Your godfather caused us quite a bit of trouble last night.

P: I don't know anything about that. What is going on? Who are you?

U: No one special. What was it that Black said? Ah, he said, "Harry is better off dead." I'm here to oblige his request.

P: Sirius would never say that.

U: Come closer, Potter, I don't want to make a mess of everything.

P: _Finite_!

U: _Reducto_!

P: You missed!

U: _Avada Kedavra_! You can't keep dodging forever inside that tiny little cell, Potter.

P: _Stupefy_! _Expelliarmus_!

U: _Protego_!

P: _Stupefy_!

U: _Avada Kedavra_!

P: _Expelliarmus_! _Stupefy_! _Reducto_! Oh, Merlin, that actually worked. Who are you? Why are you here? What do you want?

U: You'll pay for this, Potter.

P: Pay for what? You attacked me! You used an Unforgivable! Who are you? Do you work for Voldemort?

U: Don't say his name, half-breed!

P: I'll say whatever I please. Now, who are you? Answer me! Hey! Death Eater guy! I'm talking to you! Answer me! He's dead—what have I done? Help! Someone help! Someone! Please, someone help! Help! What have I done‽ _Colloportus_.

[There is a silence lasting about five minutes, after which the sound of crying can be heard for several more minutes.]

P: Help! Someone, please, help! Stop writing you stupid quill! You're not helping! _Finite_! _Finite_! Just stop! Stop!

[About five and a half hours of silence pass.]

A: Potter! Potter! Are you there? Damn it, Potter! Open the door! There's blood in the cell. Proudfoot, Black was right, it was a distraction so they could get at Potter. Go get a healer! Open the bloody door, Potter! _Accio transcript_! Here! _Alohomora_! Potter—Harry, look at me. Are you hurt? Look at me.

P: Go away.

A: I'm not going anywhere. Are you hurt?

P: Just go away! It doesn't matter.

A: It does matter. Look at me.

P: No! Go away.

A: The healer is here. Sit up and let him look at you or so help me I will force you. Understand?

P: Please, just go away. No! Let me go! Let me go!

Healer: His wrist—grab his arm at the elbow, like that.

A: Harry James Potter! Stop struggling!

P: Let me go, please just let me go!

H: It looks like the Reductor Curse. A few doses of Skele-Gro and he'll be fine. I'll splint it so he can move around.

A: Thank you, you're dismissed. Stop struggling, Potter.

P: No!

A: I know what happened—

P: I killed him, Shacklebolt! I killed him and I don't even know who he was!

A: I know. I read the transcript. You didn't have a choice. That's why I left you with your wand.

P: I killed him!

A: It's not your fault.

P: It is my fault! I cast the curse—I didn't mean to kill him, I just wanted to break his arm, make him stop cursing me.

A: I know, Harry. It's not your fault.

P: Let go of me!

A: No. I'm not going to let go. I know exactly what you're going to try and I'm not going to let you.

P: I'll bite you!

A: No, you won't.

P: I will.

A: I'm trying to help you, Harry. I know exactly what's going through your head right now and it's not something I'm going to let you go through alone.

P: I don't want your help!

A: I know, but that doesn't change anything. Proudfoot, stop the transcript. This isn't something that should go on the record.

* * *

 _ **UP NEXT:** A collection of the personal notes of Mister Cedric Diggory on the appearance of Mister Sirius Black and the ensuing chaos._


	10. 31 October 1994

_The Illustrious Diary of Mr. Cedric Diggory_

 **5 October 1994**

Dear Diary,

I suppose today isn't a good day to be cliché. This entry was meant to be nothing more than a summary of classwork. I considered relating another one of my daydreams about Cho, but after what happened at dinner, I can't bring myself to write about something so trivial as classes or unrequited love. How can N.E.W.T.s matter when a man who has been subjected to hell appears in front of me? How can good-natured but hurtful teasing matter when a man who may be falsely accused of a horrendous crime collapses in front of the entire school? How can my schoolboy infatuation matter when a man's only surviving friend is hunted like an animal and his fourteen-year-old godson is imprisoned without cause? I've looked back on previous entries I've written about Sirius Black. They make me sick to read again. They condemn a man I'd never met, a man I'd never seen. I want to curse myself with the same curses I ignorantly laid on him. I'm ashamed that I was once a part of such a group of people. I'm ashamed that I can't find a voice to speak up as my peers discuss Black all around me. They're mocking him, pretending to faint, begging to be believed. I know I should speak up and silence them. Black walked into Hogwarts knowing it could be his last act as a free man. He walked into Hogwarts and stared down the wand of the most powerful wizard alive to warn us of You-Know-Who's return. His bravery deserves an Order of Merlin.

I hope they treat him well and give him a fair trial. I hear one of the fourth years, Ernie Macmillan, shouting about someone should have struck Black down before he could say a word. I hope one of the other prefects would tell him off, but I know they won't. The other prefects agree. I feel like I'm the only one who actually saw the real Sirius Black tonight. He was reasonably dressed—nothing like what I would expect of a convict on the run. His robes were too short on the hems, but the clothes were in reasonable condition, even though there was mud, blood, and other debris soiling the knees, one of his sleeves, and his back. He had been attacked. A goose egg on his temple looked as though it was throbbing, but Black considered it one of the least of his worries. His lips were bleeding and it looked like he had a piece of cloth stuck between his teeth. Someone had gagged him. His feet were bare and there were rope burns around his ankles and shins. Someone had tied him up. His left sleeve had been torn and I caught a glimpse of his forearm. There was no Dark Mark.

Father told me once that a Dark Mark cannot be hidden by any spell or potion. It still appears, even with the Polyjuice Potion. Sirius Black was not a Death Eater. He was certainly not one of You-Know-Who's inner circle. Instead of a Dark Mark, his arm and what remained of his sleeve were soaked with blood. The blood was staining his wand as well, as it dangled from his left hand, allowing his right the clutch at the wound in the crook of his elbow.

I don't know where Black got his wand, but I could feel the wand's power. It was like a tickle at the back of my mind, making me want to take it from him. I shoved the thought away. That wand belonged to Black. I had no idea how, but it was his. I took a step forward to support Black's weight, but before I could grab him, he lurched forward towards the professors' table. He had to know the wands of all the professors and most of the school were pointed at him, ready to curse him with the worst curses they knew, but he didn't even flinch. He walked right up to Dumbledore, swaying precariously. He should be in St. Mungo's surrounded and comforted by the people who cared for him, not desperately trying to protect a bunch of worthless, thankless people by warning them of a threat looming on the horizon.

He didn't beg for pardon, forgiveness, freedom, or protection. He begged us to believe him that You-Know-Who has returned. He swore he wasn't guilty of the crimes everyone accused him of because he was desperate for us to believe him. I believe him. A traitor would never have warned anyone of You-Know-Who's return from the dead. I'm ashamed that I condemned Sirius Black for so long. I may not be brave enough to stand up to my classmates, but I'm humble enough to apologize for thinking such disgusting thoughts about what he deserved. I will find him in the morning and apologize. They'll lock him in either the Hospital Wing or one of the towers.

Black is the bravest man I've ever seen—except perhaps Potter when he faced fear and hatred and ridicule from the entire school every day for weeks during his second year. How can I even think of approaching him if I'm not brave enough to tell off my own classmates for speaking so cruelly about such a brave man?

I stood up on my chair and spoke. My entire house listened. I told them about Black's bravery and his loyalty to the people of this school. I told them we don't even deserve to be in the presence of such a brave and loyal man. They listened. I only said a few sentences, but they listened. They believed me. The entire house hung their heads in shame as the murmured apologies and recanted their cruel words. The entire house shamefully shuffled off to bed.

I've always been popular, but I never considered that they would actually listen to me. Me! I'm only a sixth year! Only a prefect!

I'm talking about myself again, aren't I? I should be concerned about what is going on around me. I'm going to talk to Potter's friends tomorrow and get the real story. The whole story.

Cedric

C | D

 **7 October 1994**

Dear Diary,

The professors told us no one was allowed to leave our dormitories. We've been locked up in here for more than forty-eight hours. For the first day, it was like a vacation. Only the most studious Hufflepuffs actually did their homework. Everyone played games, relaxed, and just enjoyed themselves. Today, it was horrible. There are more than a hundred of us in this enclosed space and fights are starting to break out. Everyone is tense because we haven't heard from any of the professors. We've periodically tried to open the door and leave, but someone locked it from the outside. We can't even climb out the windows to get someone. Everyone is scared and no one can sleep. Things are getting worse and the prefects aren't sure how long we can maintain order. We've had to conjure barriers in some of the dorms to split up some of the fights.

I have a short speech written for when things get out of hand. I'm going to remind them of Harry and what he's going through and remind them that Black is almost certainly innocent. If we can't keep it together for a few days, how can we expect to work together against You-Know-Who when he comes to take Hogwarts? If we can't even get along with each other for a little while, are we even worth the risk Black too to warn us about You-Know-Who?

They listened to me the first time. I hope they'll listen to me this time. Will they?

Cedric

C | D

 **9 October 1994**

Dear Diary,

We were locked in our dormitories for seventy hours. The first years and some of the second years started to break down crying on the third day. They were terrified and confused and didn't know what was going on. I think I spent most of the third day reassuring one after another. The other prefects were noticeably absent whenever one of them started to cry. I comforted eight first and second years. Two of them, I had to sit with twice. Luckily, I can bypass the enchantment on the girl's dormitories so the entire house didn't have to see their meltdowns. I was so exhausted by the end of the day. I think three of the third years broke down as well, but they hid from everyone else. I should have sought them out to make sure they were okay, but I was too tired. I'm still too tired. Two of the professors and five aurors escorted us to the Great Hall. We were the first house to arrive. They told us to sit down silently. The other three houses came in right after us.

At the front of the Great Hall, in front of the professor's table, Black was sitting in a chair. He stared directly in front of him. Two aurors stood on either side. Their wands weren't drawn. Granger cried Black's name when she saw him. He glanced at her, gave her a weak smile, and looked away. The Weasley twins had grabbed their brother and Granger, preventing them from running up to Black and made them sit down between them.

There was no one to stop me.

I stood up sharply from my seat between two second years and marched up. The students watched me warily. The aurors didn't move, but I saw their hands tighten around their wands. I stopped in front of Black and studied him carefully. He looked up at me, his expression guarded.

He had a disgusting bruise on one side of his head which almost made it look like he had a black eye. He had torn off his sleeve and used it as a bandage for his arm, which also revealed is wrist and half-healed ligature marks. I was still surprised to see his arm unmarred by the Dark Mark.

"You're Diggory's son, aren't you? Cedric, right?" Black asked me quietly, so the rest of the hall couldn't hear. I nodded even though the situation seemed surreal. Of all the things he could have said, he asked me such a normal question as if he wasn't surrounded by aurors, as if we had just met on the street. "The last time I saw you, you were just learning to walk. I supposed that makes me sound incredibly old doesn't it?" He joked. My stomach twisted as I realized what he was doing. He knew he was a dead man, but he wanted to distract me, like I was some child to be protected. "You've grown into a fine young man. You should sit down before you get yourself in trouble. Go on, I'm not worth it." The aurors looked incredibly uncomfortable with his familiarity and consideration. I suspected several of them had known Black before Azkaban.

The first of the two questions that had been burning through Hufflepuff rudely spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them. "Did you betray Harry and his parents to You-Know-Who?"

"Never!" He replied vehemently. He spoke directly to me as if I was the person he had to convince even though I already believed him. There was desperation in his voice, but it wasn't repulsive. He was desperate to be believed, but somehow resigned to the likelihood that no one would listen. Pity and sympathy churned in my gut.

I looked into his eyes and I could see that he was telling the truth. He wasn't insane like everyone insisted. He was certainly hurting in every way a man could hurt, but he wasn't cruel or angry or crazy. Well, he wasn't completely insane. Anyone could tell that he wasn't quite in touch with reality. His eyes kept shifting towards the shadows as if he thought someone was about to attack him. He wasn't wrong. The aurors looked like they wanted nothing more than to curse us both into oblivion.

"Go sit down, son. You're a good kid; don't blow it on me."

I didn't ask the second question that everyone wanted to know because his answer to the first kept ringing through my head, even though it was only a single word. The shame and guilt that he was persecuted for so long without anyone stopping to take a second look suffocated me. I had contributed to that baseless hatred and the results of my actions sat in front of me. My sins against him were out of ignorance, but it didn't change anything. I barely heard him tell me again to sit down, that everything would be okay. He called me 'son.' Even after everything, even though he had to know that I was one among the masses who had condemned him, he still had a kind word of reassurance. I wanted to fall to my knees and beg his forgiveness.

The next thing I knew, Professor Sprout took my elbow and guided me back to the Hufflepuff table. I sat down in the first seat I reached. There was almost ten meters between me and my closest classmate. I couldn't look away from Black and I knew that I was just as much the center of attention as he is. My cheeks were cold, and when I reached up to touch them, they were wet with tears. Humiliation almost wiped out everything else I was feeling, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I deserved the humiliation of crying in front of the entire school. I deserved it for the suffering I had helped put Black through. I probably deserved worse.

Dumbledore stepped in front of Black, forcing the school to turn its attention onto him. He apologized that we were forced to spend so long in our dormitories and explained that it was to keep us safe and out of the way while the school wards were being fixed and the situation with Sirius Black was being sorted out. There might as well have been a dementor in the room because it was so cold. He said that since the school had suffered the most from his escape, his trial would be conducted in front of us. The prefects, head girl, head boy, and Quidditch captains would be his jury, if they agreed to it, as well as any other student leaders the school would like to nominate. An auror would read out his crimes for us and provide the Ministry's evidence. Black would be given an opportunity to address the school. The student body would be able to submit questions to be posed to him, which would be asked by the head boy on behalf of the school.

The 'trial' is scheduled take place the following morning. Anyone can attend. Anyone who doesn't want to participate won't be compelled to attend. Only fourth year and above would be allowed to participate. Dumbledore dismissed the school and said there would be food in our dormitories. He also stated that there would not be a curfew that night and students were free to wander around the castle, but not the grounds. The only place students would not be allowed was the Astronomy tower, which would be guarded by aurors.

Dumbledore dismissed everyone and stepped aside. I immediately looked at Black. He knew this was coming and he was scared. I stayed in my seat as the rest of the school filed out. Harry's friends tried to go talk to Black, but the Weasley twins held them back and persuaded them against the idea. They made eye contact with me.

I've never been close friends with the twins. They're in my year and we have class together, but they labeled me 'pretty boy Diggory' on our first day together in first year and the name stuck. It wasn't until now that I realized why they kept up the nickname. It was to make sure that I didn't get too big of a head over my popularity. I knew I was the Hufflepuff golden boy, but if it wasn't for recent events, they probably would have made sure I never truly realized what that meant. I gained a new appreciation for the twins and nodded back to them. I would find them and relay whatever I found out after the rest of the school left.

The Great Hall emptied rapidly after Harry's friends were hustled out. None of the students paid any attention to me. It wasn't until the doors of the Great Hall closed that the teachers started to argue among themselves. McGonagall wanted Black out of the school to be dealt with at the Ministry so that classes could resume, but Flitwick argued that it was good for the students to have a taste of what life was really like. Dumbledore inserted that although the school had prejudice against Black, the students were more inclined to give him a fairer trial than Wizengamot. Before their argument, could unfold, Sprout cleared her throat and gestured at me.

I had been slapped in the face with my cowardice many times over the past few days. I may be a coward, but I know how to be humble. I glanced around the Great Hall and recognized Rufus Scrimgeour, Amelia Bones, Cornelius Fudge, Barty Crouch, and even my father was there, presumably because Black was known to traffic with werewolves.

I ignored them. I ignored the professors. I ignored the aurors. My father started to step forward as I approached Black, but Amelia Bones held him back. I crouched and put one knee on the ground in front of Black. I told him I was sorry for thinking, saying, and writing about him being a horrible person and guilty of horrible things. I told him I was sorry for letting people get mad at and helping them silence the people that tried to speak in his defense. I told him I was sorry that I was scared of his friend and even of Harry for being werewolves before I understood what being a werewolf actually was. I told him I was sorry for being a coward and not sticking up for him when I knew I should have. I kept apologizing until he knelt in front of me, drawing the wands of almost everyone present. He put a hand on my shoulder. I'm never going to forget what he said.

"I forgive you, Cedric. I forgive you and you don't have to apologize anymore. You've learned from a mistake and you've grown. That's more than most people can claim. I forgive you, Cedric."

He let go of my shoulder. I didn't care if it made me look girly, I reached forward to hug him. Before I could touch him, two people grabbed my arms and pulled me backwards.

Black called after me and asked me to tell Harry's friends that they had done more than enough for him and Lupin and Harry.

I did just that. One of the twins found me as soon as one of the aurors firmly escorted me out of the Great Hall. I think it was Fred, but not even the teachers can tell them apart. I passed on Black's message and left, not even waiting for their response.

I hope that I get a chance to speak in Black's defense tomorrow. I don't know if he'll thank me for what I want to say, but I know that no one will listen to the Gryffindors. People will listen to me. I'm going to use that.

I'm going to do something right.

Cedric

C | D

 **10 October 1994**

Dear Diary,

All of Hufflepuff showed up to the 'trial'. Most of Gryffindor as well. About half of each Ravenclaw and Slytherin were there. I noticed that all the children of suspected Death Eaters were present.

I won't go into detail on the trial. The Ministry was not kind to Black. They blamed him for the murders of the muggles and Pettigrew he had originally been imprisoned for, they blamed almost everything that has gone wrong in the world on him since he broke out of Azkaban. They even accused him of several misdemeanors from before his life was turned on his head. He looked physically ill when they accused him of working with Lupin to infect Harry with lycanthropy. Harry's name came up often in the accusations.

He admitted to enchanting a muggle motorcycle to fly, however, he said he didn't know where the motorcycle was and insisted that such enchantments weren't illegal until after he was imprisoned.

It was a tedious trial, but by dinnertime, all of the evidence had been presented and Black had received his only chance to speak and answer questions. The group of students tasked with being the jury withdrew to one of the empty classrooms. There was an auror in the corner of the room, but no other adults were present.

When we voted, eighteen out of twenty-one people considered Black guilty. I didn't understand how everyone was so easily convinced of the lies about Black. Did they only listen? Did they not see the man sitting in front of them?

I watched Black as he listened to the verdict and then listened as Amelia Bones read out the penalty. Execution. Public execution on Hogwarts grounds. I started to stand up and protest, but before I could, my father was standing behind me, both hands on my shoulders, keeping me in my seat.

"Don't say a word, Cedric," he said in my ear. "Even if it was me up in that seat, you are going to stay in your seat and keep your mouth closed."

I wasn't right. It was a gross injustice. I tried to ignore my father's orders, but his wand sharply flicked my back. I couldn't move from my seat and I couldn't speak.

I tried to catch Black's eye, but he didn't look in my direction. I looked toward the knot of Weasleys and Harry's other friend, Granger, but Black didn't look at them either. One of the twins met my eye but looked away quickly. Three aurors, including Kingsley Shacklebolt, were keeping them in their seats. Four more aurors were standing around the Gryffindor table, their wands out and preventing students from protesting the verdict.

Dumbledore was equally displeased, but he remained silent without prompting. It must have been accidental magic that threw off the spells my father put on me. I stood up on the bench, shoving my father backward, not caring if he hurt himself falling.

They couldn't execute Black in front of the school. Not in front of minors! I stood up on my seat and shouted at Amelia Bones for making students responsible for the life and death of an adult. I shouted at Rufus Scrimgeour for not speaking up because I knew that he believed Black's innocence. He was as furious about the verdict as I was. I shouted at the aurors who had their wands pointed at students who had nothing to do with Black; aurors who were subduing minors for protesting an injustice. My father grabbed my robes and tried to pull me down, but I kept shouting even after he cast a silencing spell on me. It was a weak one that I managed to break with a silent spell from my own wand, but I was enough of a distraction to give one of the Gryffindors, I think it was one of the Quidditch chasers, a chance to stand up and continue for me. One of the aurors grabbed her, but we had broken the floodgate. It started with the Quidditch players in Hufflepuff and Gryffindor—except the Weasleys and Granger, they were too tightly guarded. A few of the Ravenclaws stood up as well. Before I could see the result of what I started, my father managed to wrestle me to the ground and pin me on my stomach.

I didn't see exactly what happened, but Black had disappeared in the chaos the students caused and there were injuries on most of the protestors when the spellfire got out of hand. Those injured were hustled to the Hospital Wing, except myself, the Gryffindor chaser, the Weasleys, Granger, the Hufflepuff keeper, a Ravenclaw prefect, and Ernie Macmillan. It wasn't one of the Ministry officials who scolded us. It was McGonagall. For the first time in my life, I outright defied a teacher and shouted right back at her about the injustice done.

She stood there until I shouted myself hoarse, informed us that each of us would lose our respective houses fifty points. I almost laughed when Granger spoke up and said that Gryffindor didn't have three hundred points to lose—none of the houses had more than a hundred points to lose. Ernie Macmillan added that the Weasleys and Granger hadn't even said a word.

Instead of becoming even more furious like I expected, McGonagall ignored them and turned to me.

It wasn't intentional, but I was the ringleader. When the others tried to come to my defense, McGonagall forced them to admit that they wouldn't have said a word unless someone else spoke first. I had spoken first and it was ultimately my fault that Black escaped. My punishment didn't come from McGonagall. It came from Dumbledore. He told me I was suspended for two weeks and informed me that the Ministry had its own punishment for me in the meantime.

I'm sitting in a Ministry holding cell while writing this. My parents refused to speak to me—they glared at me as one of the aurors, Kingsley Shacklebolt, escorted me out of the school. Since I had my diary with me at the time, I was allowed to keep it, but I wasn't allowed to take anything from my dorm. My fellow inmate lent me his quill.

On the bunk below me is Harry Potter. When they threw me into the cell with him, he glanced up from the book he was reading, then proceeded to ignore me, turning his head so I couldn't see the scars I knew marred one side of his face. I tried to introduce myself, but he only pointed at a roll of parchment and a quill that was recording everything I said. It hovered on the other side of the auror guarding us. He told me he didn't care why I was there or for how long. They only locked me up with him to try to get him to share something about Black or Lupin that he wouldn't share with anyone else.

I barely recognized Harry Potter. I didn't know him at all from before, but I had sat next to him in the library a few times and his entire demeanor was different.

Then he asked if I needed help with my shoulder. I didn't realize it, but at some point, I earned a deep gash on the outside of my shoulder. It had cut through the meat of my arm and I hadn't even felt it before Harry said something. As soon as I realized it was there, it started to throb. Aches and pain started to appear all over my body from when I had been tossed and dragged around.

Harry was careful to hide the scarred side of his face from me as he dragged the desk chair over to the sink and guided me over to it. It hurt as he cleaned the wound and even though he mentioned it only looked worse than it was. It was only a shallow cut from a severing charm.

I don't know how he stayed so calm or detached. He had deep, dark circles under his eyes and he looked like he only wanted to curl up and block everything out. He produced bandages from somewhere and I asked him how he knew what to do. He told me that he had to fix himself up a few times when the healers refused to look at him. I asked why they refused to treat him and he just turned his head so I could see the scars on his face.

Harry seemed surprised but didn't say anything when I didn't look at the scars. I didn't trust myself not to stare, so I didn't look. I waited patiently, staring at his collarbone while he bandaged my shoulder. It was clumsily done, but better than I could have done myself. I'd never gotten a serious injury before and the longer I felt the pain, the harder it was to keep my composure.

When he finished, he didn't acknowledge my word of thanks, he just returned to his bunk and reopened his book. I'm going to try and sleep. Everything will be clearer in the morning.

Cedric

C | D

 **11 October 1994**

Dear Diary,

Harry woke me up early in the morning, screaming in terror. As a prefect, I'd helped the younger students through nightmares before. By the time I was fully awake, I was already out of my bunk and shaking him awake. Harry was crying from it. My gut told me it wasn't a normal nightmare. He woke up gasping about killing someone.

He didn't want comfort, but I gave it anyway. I sat on his bunk beside his pillow, patiently waiting for him to calm down.

After the first half of the morning passed, I realized exactly why the Ministry put me in a cell with Potter. It wasn't exactly to punish me, although I knew being cramped in the cell would become extremely taxing on me as time passed. I suspected that while my suspension was legitimate, the expression on Dumbledore's face told me I had been at serious risk of expulsion for starting what could only be considered a riot. The Ministry had jumped on the opportunity to 'punish' me further. My parents either knew what was going on or didn't have the power to stop it.

Harry was a mess in the way that prison guards and aurors couldn't help. While I suspected that Auror Shacklebolt had been trying—I had seen him appear at the end of the hall and observe us—he didn't have any success because Harry wouldn't let him close enough to help. What Harry really needed was Black or Lupin, someone Harry trusted, who would understand how it felt to kill someone. My father had mentioned that both men had killed during the first war, insisting that it was a sign of their future tendencies towards the Dark Arts.

Instead, the Ministry snatched the next best thing that fell into their lap.

As soon as Harry had somewhat calmed down, the way Shacklebolt dragged me out of the cell for questioning told me that they were genuinely angry with me. I was glad that I didn't know anything about Black or Lupin that the aurors didn't already know.

Shacklebolt intimidated and tried to force me to share more information than I had, but he couldn't force me to say things I didn't know.

My patience was thin from being woken up far earlier than I intended. I told myself that I wouldn't get short with him. I did my best, but he kept pushing and pushing and pushing. We were in that room for hours. We were in that room until my hands began to tremble with hunger and my stomach was twisted in a painful knot.

For most of the time, the interrogation was about Black. I told Shacklebolt everything I knew; I didn't try to hide any of it. I told him everything my father had told me. I told him what I observed in the Great Hall. I told him about what happened in the jury room. I told him all the realizations I had come to afterwards.

The conversation turned to Lupin. I didn't know much about him, but I shared the little I knew. I got some satisfaction as Shacklebolt's frustration rose. I was only giving him information he already knew.

He turned the conversation on to Harry. I dodged his questions and talked in circles, refusing to share even the most basic information. He asked too many questions and I lost my temper. I shouted at him for imprisoning Harry and preventing him from going to school. I shouted at Shacklebolt all the crimes the Ministry committed against Harry and Lupin and Black. Even though I knew I shouldn't have, I kept shouting and shouting. Shacklebolt let me scream at him, watching me with patience and composure.

It unnerved me how he could switch between furious and intimidating and patient and calm.

When I was retuned to the cell, Harry was gone. I took the opportunity to flip through the collection of books Harry had accumulated. Most of them were Hogwarts fourth-year texts, but there were a number of defense textbooks and fiction novels. Aside from a deck of self-shuffling playing cards, there was nothing else to occupy oneself with.

I paced the room until Harry returned. He was stumbling with exhaustion. As soon as the auror, who I didn't recognize, opened the cell door, I ducked under Harry's arm and guided him to the bed.

Harry insisted he was fine, but when I rolled my eyes, he fell quiet. Even so, he refused to rest. Instead, we spent the afternoon playing cards. Eventually, he grew bored with the game, grabbed one of his books, picked up a rolled-up piece of paper from the desk, and sat down on his bed. I played one of the solo card games I knew, subtly observing him as he practiced the movements of the Summoning charm.

"You're doing it wrong," I told him, then sat down on the bed next to him.

He scowled but didn't stop me from taking the makeshift wand from his hand. I demonstrated it and guided him through the wand movements and explained the theory. I was sitting on his left side. The scars on his face made it difficult to judge his expression. He didn't pull away when I took his hand and guided him through the motions, but I didn't try to see how long he would let me help. After explaining it and watching him do it right a handful of times, I climbed up onto my bed and laid down.

When I looked out the cell door, I saw Shacklebolt and a healer subtly observing.

Several hours later, which I spent lying on my back and thinking about everything, Harry's head appeared over the edge of my bed.

"Cedric? Can you teach me the Banishing charm too?"

At first, I couldn't help but stare at him blankly. I never expected Harry to ask for help, much less from me. After a moment, I snapped out of my surprise and agreed. Before I could move, Harry put the charms book on my bed, then the fake wand, then climbed up beside me.

At some point, he had stopped hiding his scars. He had taken off his robes and was plain, grey, muggle clothes underneath with the insignia of the Ministry on the hems. While his attention was elsewhere, I let myself look at the scars. His sleeves were short and the skin of his right forearm was mangled beyond recognition. I didn't want to touch those scars, but I had to in order to reposition his arm so he could do the wand movement properly. After I taught him the incantation and wand movements, then told him all he had to do was practice, I expected him to climb down, but he didn't move. He just sat beside me while I wrote today's entry. Only when the auror announced lights were going out did Harry climb off my bed.

I almost dismissed the way he stuck close to me as unimportant. After he climbed off my bed, he popped his head back up and asked how long I would be staying.

"I don't know, Harry," I told him quietly. "I don't know how long I'm staying, but I'll stay with you as long as I can." To my surprise, I meant it.

Cedric

C | D

 **19 October 1994**

Dear Diary,

Since my last entry, the days have been rather monotonous. Harry and I have only left the cell to shower—which was a tedious experience. Every morning, except for this one, Harry woke me early while in the throes of a nightmare. I sat with him until he calmed down, then after eating the breakfast levitated into the room, we played games with the deck of cards. Harry enjoys trying to build towers with the cards. Sometime before lunch Harry would ask me to teach him something from one of his textbooks—at least, I would teach him as much as I could without a wand to practice with.

It is only a few hours until the moon rises and Harry is pacing anxiously. Occasionally, he shouts at the auror guarding us to get him away from me. At first, I tried to calm him down, but he refused to listen. His anxiety is contagious. I'm not afraid of Harry. I used to be, but after actually seeing him, it would be silly to fear a skinny, knobby-kneed kid. Well, I think I would still fear him if I had to compete against him in Quidditch, but I'm not scared of him for being a werewolf. I'm not scared of Harry. I am scared of the wolf. I'm terrified of the wolf.

I'm more scared of surviving the wolf's attack than I am of dying from it. If I become a werewolf, I don't know what I'll do. My parents will disown me. I won't be able to finish Hogwarts. I might even be trapped in Harry's situation—locked in the Ministry.

But here I am concerned about myself when Harry is the one who is truly suffering. If he turned me, he would hate himself and that would crush him.

Down the hall, I can see Professor Snape talking to our guard. He has something in his hand—a goblet of some kind. Harry doesn't see him. He is too busy pacing anxiously.

Snape walks this way. When Harry sees him, he backs away from the bars. Snape waves his wand and the goblet floats towards Harry. Snape says its Wolfsbane but Harry doesn't believe him. I don't blame him. The two didn't part on the best of terms.

Snape looked up at me sternly. I intervened and Harry reluctantly consumed the potion, grimacing at the taste. It wasn't until after Snape left that I realized that the Wolfbane meant Harry and I weren't going to be separated for the full moon.

Either Harry was no longer concerned or didn't realize that we wouldn't be separated.

(large smudge of ink)

Harry surprised me. He poked his head up beside me while I was thinking and I didn't notice him until he started talking. He realized that we weren't going to be separated and he wanted me to stay up on my bed for the night, insisting that he can't jump as a wolf. I don't think he's telling the truth, but I decide to believe him.

At some point over the past few days, I asked Harry if he could actually perform the Patronus charm. He explained that his boggart was a Dementor and it helped him learn the charm. Then he asked what my boggart was. I had no choice but to confess that it was a dog. I never told him why.

I think he remembered and decided to distance himself from me while transformed.

That's enough writing for tonight. I want to try and be asleep for the entire time Harry is transformed.

Cedric

C | D

 **31 October 1994**

Dear Diary,

They took my journal the morning after Harry's transformation. Just before Harry transformed back into himself, they took my journal and dragged me out of the cell. I didn't sleep at all that night, but I pretended to so Harry wouldn't be hurt by how scared I was of him. They dragged me out of the cell and there were four aurors interrogating me. One was Shacklebolt and I recognized Rufus Scrimgeour, who didn't say much. He just stood in the corner and observed. He only spoke when the aurors started to get carried away. The other two aurors were Proudfoot, who guarded us most of the time, and Mad-Eye Moody, who scared me more than the other three combined and carried out most of the interrogation.

The only thing Scrimgeour said was to tell Mad-Eye how long it had been. After more than five hours, it was finally over. I wasn't entirely sure what information I had shared I don't know how Mad-Eye was even scarier that he was when I had first seen him.

The interrogation didn't end there. Scrimgeour stepped up and informed me that I was seventeen. It was October 20th. My birthday. The trace had been lifted. Scrimgeour informed me that I would no longer be given the careful treatment of a minor because my father had refused to sign off on the more invasive interrogation techniques.

By order of the Minister, all rights had been suspended for all adults involved in the Sirius Black case. My father had refused to allow them to 'take whatever measures necessary' to find out what I knew about Black, but my father's legal authority over me dissolved when I turned seventeen. Scrimgeour pointed his wand at me. I remember the spell he cast, _legilimens_ , and pain, but nothing else. I woke up in my bed at home the next day.

My parents' expressions told me not to ask what happened. Three days later, I returned to school. Many people asked what happened while I was gone, but I refused to talk about it. Aside from the curiosity of the general student population, I was extremely unpopular. In the hallways, even the first years attempted to trip me. I barely managed to block several curses throughout the day. All of my friends refused to speak to me. It took two days for me to run into the Weasley twins in the entrance of the Great Hall. I was walking past them and as they greeted me, someone hit me with a weak Bludgeoning curse. It knocked me down and scattered everything I was holding on the ground in front of me. The twins immediately jumped to my defense, but it was their sister that cast the Bat-Bogey hex at the perpetrator and asked if anyone else wanted to try and have a go at me. The bullying in the halls eased, but in the common room, nothing changed. I quickly started locking all my possessions in my trunk and the only time I was in the Hufflepuff dorms was to sleep.

The teachers were aware of the problems I faced from my classmates, but didn't interfere, although they didn't encourage it either.

All of my professors expressed their disappointment with me in some way.

Dumbledore stated that I would have detention every Saturday, all day, until I graduated. He dismissed me from his office after telling me to report to his office at eight o'clock on Saturday.

McGonagall held me after class and gave me a stack of assignments that was definitely larger than it should have been. I had only missed two weeks and there was at least four weeks of work in the stack. She sternly told me that she would have excused me from the work if I was absent for almost any other reason, but in this instance, I had only a week to complete the work. I bit back the answer I wanted to give. Instead, I simply thanked her for collecting my work and left.

Flitwick similarly held me after class and lectured me about responsibility and the consequences for my actions, then assigned me a similar pile of work, although I saw that it was much more reasonable. Later, when I looked through the assignments, it included a list of all of the work and assignments completed by my classmates, and only about half of them were marked for me to complete. I had a week to complete the work.

Even Hagrid scolded me for getting mixed up with the Sirius Black business and warned me not to follow in Granger or the Weasley's footsteps. Fortunately, he told me I only had to come by on Sunday and interact with the creatures I had missed in class to prove I was caught up. He gave me a list of the creatures I missed so I could read the relevant chapters in the textbook.

Binns only gave me copies of the work I missed and a disapproving glance, although I'm not sure he knew exactly why I had been absent for so long. I had two weeks to finish it.

Moody ignored me in class, but his blue eye was trained on me the entire time. He dropped my missed work on my desk before I stood up to leave. I was still terrified of him.

Snape spent the first ten minutes of class berating me in front of everyone, then singled me out in class with snide comments and harsh critiques of the potion I was attempting to brew. He delivered me my make-up work after class and gave me two weeks to complete it.

The punishment and condemnation of the professors is extremely unfair. The stress from the constant antagonism from the students and the effort it takes to refrain from retaliation is utterly exhausting.

Sprout was the last professor I had in class and her punishment was by far the worst. She assigned me detention for an hour before breakfast every morning doing menial chores in the greenhouses for her until I 'understood the gravity of my actions' and 'saw the error of my ways.'

When Sprout started to lecture me, I walked away before she finished. Before I left, I told her that the teachers and students could punish me as much as they wanted, but I still thought I did the right thing. I told her that I wasn't sure if what I did was worth it, but I didn't regret my actions. She was furious but didn't pursue me.

On my second day back, the day before my confrontation with Sprout, I found a study room on the seventh floor that appeared when I walked past it three times. There was a trunk in the room that had a large collection of books and whenever I opened it, the book I needed was sitting on top of the others. If it wasn't for that room, I would never have finished the unjust amount of homework I had been assigned. McGonagall was surprised when I returned to her the large stack of homework three days after she assigned it. She accepted it without a word and I left. Two days later, I delivered to Flitwick my make-up homework alongside the assignment due for the day. Today, I turned in Snape's work during breakfast.

I spent the arrival of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons in the study room. I made it to the Great Hall about ten minutes before the beginning of the Triwizard Tournament was announced. After eating and listening to the announcements, I was the first to duck out of the Great Hall. Outside the Great Hall, Shacklebolt was waiting to return my journal. I took it and walked away.

While I was with Harry, I told him about the Triwizard Tournament and he agreed that because of recent events, I shouldn't enter. I had no intention of entering, but when I walked by the Great Hall before breakfast, there was no one there. I stopped to look at the Goblet of Fire. I was exhausted of the constant animosity from everyone, even the teachers. Before I could think about it, I scribbled my name and school onto a piece of scrap parchment, then put it in the Goblet.

During the feast, I sat at the back, just as curious as everyone else who would be picked as the champions. First, Victor Krum, the Quidditch player, was picked from Durmstrang. Next, was Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons. The name that came out of the Goblet for the Hogwarts champion, to everyone's surprise, was mine. Even Dumbledore was stunned. Numb, I managed to stand up and walk to Dumbledore before he had to call my name twice. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang applauded politely alongside the weak and uncertain applause from my house and the enthusiastic applause from the Weasleys and a few Gryffindors.

The Durmstrang Headmaster, Karkaroff, asked if there was something wrong with who the Goblet of Fire chose for the Hogwarts champion. Luckily, he waited until it was only the other champions, the Ministry representatives, and the other champions present.

The Ministry representatives and Dumbledore were at a loss on how to answer his question, so I told him that I was particularly unpopular in the Ministry and at school for the moment. No one contradicted me, but the other champions took a subtle step away.

"The higher the pedestal, the further the fall," Barty Crouch sneered at me.

Dumbledore smoothed everything over before an incident could arise and gave the instructions to the champions.

When I returned to the common room five minutes before curfew, most of the house was waiting. I didn't have anything to say to them, so I marched straight to my dorm. I could hear a debate erupt behind me, but I didn't bother listening.

By the time my yearmates came up to the room, I had showered and closed the curtains around my bed. One thing I loved about my bed at Hogwarts was that if I didn't want anyone to talk to me or get past my curtains, the things were as solid as rock and over the past week, my yearmates had experienced more than a few bruised knuckles. They tried to talk to me, but the curtains muffled all but the loudest of noises—at least, it muffled their voices until Sprout appeared to demand an explanation for the racket.

It didn't muffle Spout's voice as she berated the boys for disturbing the rest of the house. As an afterthought, she ordered them to leave me alone. They did.

Cedric

* * *

 _Author's note: Thanks for reading and Happy Halloween!_

 ** _UP NEXT:_** _A continuation of the_ _collected personal notes of Mister Cedric Diggory_


	11. 24 November 1994

_The Illustrious Diary of Mr. Cedric Diggory_

 **18 November 1994**

Dear Diary,

Hufflepuff can't decide if they should keep hating me for the trouble I caused or celebrate that the house is about to get the recognition it deserved. The result is everyone watching me but saying and doing nothing.

I don't know if it's better or worse.

I didn't expect becoming a champion would end my detentions and they didn't. Sprout's detentions were manual labor, which I didn't mind. Dumbledore's detentions were essays that revolved around various laws, practices, and precedents in the Ministry. They were incredibly tedious and took most of Saturday to complete, although he always laid out relevant books and Prophet articles to complete the essay with. I suspected that I was doing research Dumbledore needed for his various positions outside of Hogwarts because they had nothing to do with Black, Lupin, or Harry. I didn't dare question the assignments.

I finished all of my make-up work early, but only Snape seemed to notice. In fact, of the teachers, Snape was the only one to have exhausted his anger and frustration with me after the first day and to treat me the same as before. His classes were never pleasant, but they were at least normal. If possible, his classes were a reprieve from the constant pressure because he treated me the same as before—apathetic with an occasional derisive remark when I made a mistake—and all the other students were too scared to try anything.

Moody still ignored my presence but watched me with his eye. I had taken to staring at my desk to avoid his gaze. I still flinched every time he walked past me. McGonagall was almost as bad as Sprout. More than once in the past two weeks I've skipped her class because of the contempt she didn't bother to hide. I always thought that McGonagall was always fair, but no matter what I did, I always lost a handful of points in her class. Hagrid often barred me from participating in class and it was obvious that he didn't trust me with his beloved creatures.

I'd rather be back in that cell with Harry than at Hogwarts lately. I've already told Sprout that I'm going home for the holidays. She disapproved but said nothing. I've written several letters to my parents, particularly about becoming the Hogwarts champion, but they haven't responded.

I've tried to write to Harry, but there was nothing good to write about, so I tore up the letter. The full moon is tonight. I hope he's okay.

The Weasley twins have asked where I've been disappearing to. I didn't tell them about the study room. They keep asking me to go flying or to work on homework, but I keep refusing them. I know they're trying to make me feel better and they are trying to remind me that I have allies and people loyal to me, but I can't accept their help. I can't accept it because I know that once I do, they will be treated the same as me. They try to persuade me to do something every few days, but I always find an excuse, even when they promised not to ask me anything about what happened while I was suspended. It's only a matter of time before they find out that I was with Harry or get fed up with how I've been avoiding them. They're worried about me, but I can't bring myself to care.

The first task is in a few days. I don't know what I'm going to do. All I know is that it's happening in the Quidditch pitch.

Cedric

C | D

 **24 November 1994**

Dear Diary,

I succeeded in the first task. I'm in last place, but the other champions knew what the task would be beforehand. I didn't but I think I did pretty well. I had to take an egg from a nesting dragon. I managed hit the creature in the eye and confound it into thinking I was one of her eggs. I broke my arm and three ribs when she swept me into her nest with her tail. After a switching spell between the egg and a rock, the hardest part was getting out of the nest. I ran for it, but the confundus wore off and the dragon attacked, catching my robes on fire. I was in the Hospital Wing for the rest of the day. Nobody visited.

Harry would have visited. He knows what it's like to be unjustly hated by the entire school. I miss him. I only knew him for a month, but sometimes, I catch myself thinking of him like I would a little brother.

Cedric

* * *

 ** _UP NEXT:_** _A continuation of the_ _collected personal notes of Mister Cedric Diggory_


	12. 25 December 1994

_The Illustrious Diary of Mr. Cedric Diggory_

 **23 December 1994**

Dear Diary,

Sprout let me go home for the holidays, but I have to come back for the Yule Ball. Cho asked me to the dance and I agreed, but I'm not interested in her anymore. It's hard to be interested in anyone with everything else that is going on. She didn't exactly try to defend me from the bullying or ask if I was alright any of the dozen times one of her friends joined in. I've decided to leave the ball early and my father agreed to meet me at the gates at ten.

Cedric

C | D

 **25 December 1994**

Dear Diary,

The Yule Ball was a disaster. Cho tried to stop me from leaving. She even started crying and complained that I wasn't interested in her anymore. I yelled at her and told her she was right and stupid to think that I would care about girls with everything else that was happening, especially girls that didn't care about me. McGonagall had to break up the fight. I left before the teachers could say anything to me.

Cedric

* * *

 _ **UP NEXT:**_ _A continuation of the collected personal notes of Mister Cedric Diggory._


	13. 28 February 1995

_The Illustrious Diary of Mr. Cedric Diggory_

 **1 February 1995**

Dear Diary,

I just figured out the clue for the second task. We have retrieve something precious from the bottom of the lake. I'm curious what they think I'll "sorely miss" because I can't think of anything.

The Bubblehead charm and warming charms will work just fine to explore the lake. Since I have nothing better to do and a month to prepare, I'm going to spend time exploring the lake on Sunday. Maybe I'll try and make friends with the giant squid or the merpeople.

Cedric

C | D

 **5 February 1995**

Dear Diary,

The merpeople are actually quite interesting to observe. The adults don't like me much, but I think that has more to do with the fact I'm human more than anything else. I made friends with a few of the kids in the colony, even though we can't understand each other. I never realized that merpeople spoke an entirely different language. I learned a few words of mermish, but I don't have a clue how to write them down. I think I'll go back next Sunday to visit. The Weasley twins tried to corner me when I was walking to the lake and I definitely surprised them when I jumped in the water. Maybe they'll be better prepared to follow me next week. I'll just leave earlier.

Cedric

C | D

 **12 February 1995**

Dear Diary,

The twins tried to follow me, but as soon as they jumped in the lake after me, I banished them back to shore and took off so they couldn't follow me. Their expressions were perfect. I suspect I just started something with them. Two of the merpeople kids accompanied me while exploring the lake. For a little while, the water got warmer and I suspected I might have accidentally went through a portal of some kind and ended up in a different part of the world. Luckily, the kids were able to lead me back.

I wonder what a child merperson is called.

I'm not going back until it's time for the second task. Hopefully, whatever the task is, I'll be able to ask them for help. I learned enough mermish to ask for help and the merpeople know everything that goes on in the lake and they'll know what I need. Hopefully.

Cedric

C | D

 **24 February 1995**

Dear Diary,

The second task was easy. I went straight to the colony to ask them for help looking for whatever I was supposed to be looking for and it turned out that they were just guarding hostages in the middle of the colony. In order to avoid suspicion at returning in less than ten minutes, I stayed and played with two of the kids who came out to say hello before cutting my father free and pulling him to the surface. I returned in half the time allotted. The Weasley twins smirked at me, but otherwise didn't say anything even though they knew I practically cheated. I decided to deal with them later and stayed next to my father. Although his disapproval of the Black incident was still obvious, he was proud of my success and that was all that mattered.

Krum didn't finish until after time was up and Fleur barely escaped with her life. I don't know what happened with her sister. It was really sad how she was screaming after that little girl, but why should I care? She obviously didn't care to make things fair with me for the first task, so why should I help her complete the second? Besides, Dumbledore wouldn't abandon some little girl at the bottom of the lake. She'll be fine, but I'll check the lake after everyone is gone to make sure. Maybe.

Cedric

C | D

 **28 February 1995**

Dear Diary,

After my success during the second task, the other students aren't quite so antagonistic towards me anymore. The teachers still don't like me very much, but they've stopped being quite so unfair. Sprout hasn't forgiven me yet, neither has McGonagall, but they treat me the same as the other students. I still have detention with Sprout and Dumbledore.

The Weasley twins finally persuaded me to hang out with them, at least, I hang out with them when they aren't plotting mischief. I haven't forgiven the rest of the school for the way they treated me, but I'm glad the twins have forgiven me for how I treated them.

My parents started writing back to my letters. I wrote a very long letter to Harry about the tournament, although I didn't tell him who the Hogwarts champion was. I don't expect a response from Harry, but I resolved to write to him as often as I could. I don't think he gets the letters because I know that Harry's friends had written him several. They were obviously extremely busy with something, but the twins couldn't figure out what it was because they had created some kind of tapping code that they used to talk about everything secret with. Once or twice, I've heard the code, but Harry's friends are rarely seen outside of the library and they disappear entirely on the weekends. Apparently, they don't even return to the Gryffindor dorms during the night. The teachers don't know because the twins threatened their dorm mates with something horrible if they told a teacher.

Not even the twins know where they go even though they can find anyone in the castle in minutes. The only time they can't find me is when I'm in my study room. Or maybe they have and have respected the locked door. I don't know how they do it.

Since I never found Harry's friends in my study room, they either found their own room or sneaked out of Hogwarts on the weekends. I suspected the latter. I have other suspicions about what they're doing, but I'm not going to write them down. I hope they succeed in whatever they're attempting.

Cho has tried to get my attention since the second task, but I keep ignoring her. I feel bad about it now, but isn't that the same thing she did to me while I was the most hated person in school? She deserves it.

My 'friends' from before are trying to be my friends again, but I don't trust them anymore. We spent more than five years living in the same room, but the moment I get in trouble and need someone, they were among my worst persecutors. What happened to loyalty, fairness, and being 'unafraid of toil?'

I would have stood by them.

Cedric

* * *

 _Author's note: I only just realized that I never put up December's entries. Go back and read those if you went straight to this chapter, they're not very long. Also, there were no January entries, in case you were wondering. I wrote this entire story pretty quickly (less than a month) so it's not as thorough as some of my other writing. Finally, I'm not going to promise update dates anymore. This semester is really busy and I don't exactly have time to be here. I'll just say they're going to be about once a month._

 ** _UP NEXT:_** _A continuation of the_ _collected personal notes of Mister Cedric Diggory._


	14. 27 March 1995

_The Illustrious Diary of Mr. Cedric Diggory_

 **4 March 1995**

Dear Diary,

Sprout finally released me from the morning detentions. She hasn't forgiven me, but I never complained about them. I just shut my mouth and did the work she told me to. She knows I'm not sorry for what I did but she finally gave up on trying to make me sorry. I finally drummed up the courage to ask Dumbledore why he was making me write essays for detention. Although writing the essays were rather tedious, the research I had to do was not. I told him it didn't really feel like a punishment, just an extra class.

He responded that he wasn't trying to punish me. The detentions with him were a personal request from Auror Shacklebolt for Dumbledore to keep an eye on me. He didn't exactly explain why.

I asked Dumbledore if he was mad at me for what happened in the fall. He denied any anger, although he admitted that he wished I had been more subtle and had not lost my temper in front of the school, which was the primary reason he took my prefect badge away. He apologized for the way the staff had been treating me.

He went on to tell me that he agreed Black was innocent and recounted several shenanigans that Black and his friends had perpetrated while at Hogwarts. Apparently, they were a lot like the Weasley twins.

I asked him if there was any way I could spend time with Harry. There were rumors at the beginning of the year that Harry's friends had visited. Dumbledore said that his visits with Harry had gone poorly, as had the visit of his friends. He regretfully returned to me the letters I had sent to Harry, which were unopened. Dumbledore stated that Harry couldn't receive letters and Auror Shacklebolt had returned the letters I sent to Harry.

Dumbledore ended the detention and I left. Instead of doing the little bit of homework I had left, I went to the lake to visit the merpeople.

Cedric

C | D

 **11 March 1995**

Dear Diary,

When I got to detention with Dumbledore, Harry was there waiting! As soon as I opened the door, he was right there and hugged me before I could step inside the door. I didn't realize how much I missed him. Since it was a Hogsmeade weekend, I managed to persuade Shacklebolt to let us walk around the grounds. Harry managed to beg Shacklebolt for his wand so he could feel like a student for a little while. To my surprise, Shacklebolt reluctantly agreed and handed Harry his wand with the condition that Shacklebolt would be able to supervise us the entire time. It was then that the idea started to form in my head.

I had been planning on going to Hogsmeade after detention, so I had a pouch of Galleons in my pocket. It wasn't much, but it was enough. As we walked by the lake, I casually asked if he wanted to meet the merpeople I had made friends with. Harry eagerly agreed. We sat by the lake and I taught him the necessary warming charms and the Bubblehead charm. As soon as he figured it out, we waded into the lake before Shacklebolt could stop us. I used the same trick on Shacklebolt that I used on the Weasley twins. As soon as he followed me into the water, I banished him out of the lake while he was trying to adjust to seeing everything underwater.

It was then that Harry realized that something was up, but he followed me as I dove deep into the lake. I had to cancel a summoning charm twice on Harry's robes, and once on my own. It was difficult to talk underwater, but I managed to tell him, that if he wanted to risk it, there might be a way out of Hogwarts at the bottom of the lake. He hesitated, glancing up towards where Shacklebolt was no doubt trying to figure out if I was trying to hide Harry or if I only wanted to talk to Harry alone for a little while. I hoped he thought it was the latter and I hoped that no one knew about the potential portal at the bottom of the lake.

Harry agreed to attempt an escape as long as I promised that I wouldn't get in trouble. I promised and squashed the guilty twist in my stomach. I was already in trouble for casting a spell on an auror. Harry didn't need to know that.

He followed me down to where I remembered the shift in temperature had occurred while I explored the lake in February. The entire time, Harry stayed close enough that I felt his hand brush my leg with every stroke. It didn't take long for the temperature to change. It wasn't as drastic of a change as I thought it would be.

We quickly swam towards the surface, which was much closer than in the lake.

As soon as we surfaced and cancelled the Bubblehead charms, Harry turned to me with a wide grin and told me that we were in Paris. I had no idea how he knew, but I believed him as we climbed out of the river. He looked around in fascination as I fixed the location in my mind so I could apparate back, even though I didn't have my license yet. I dried mine and Harry's robes then Harry led the way towards one of the streets. I was immediately uncomfortable when I realized we were in a muggle neighborhood, but when Harry saw the nearest street sign, his expression lit up and he pointed at it excitedly. I didn't understand what he was pointing at until he explained the symbol at the bottom right corner of the sign was the Black family crest, which seemed to be glowing a faint red, which apparently meant that Sirius was somewhere in the city, most likely at the Black house at the end of the street. I followed Harry's lead when he started running towards the end of the street. Luckily, the street was quiet and there was no one outside.

Harry dashed up the steps of one of the houses and started banging excitedly on the door, shouting a phrase about a stag. It took almost a minute before the door was flung open to reveal Black with an utterly stunned expression. Harry jumped up and hugged him tightly. Lupin pushed past them, grabbed my arm, and dragged me into the house, closing and bolting the door behind us. The entire time, he kept his wand pointed at me. As soon as Harry picked up on the adults' suspicion, he quickly explained who I was and how we got here.

Sirius looked horrified when Harry told them how we arrived and quickly started casting spells over Harry. Lupin explained that it wasn't a permanent portal that we used. Unless Sirius 'untied' the portal's magic from us, it would transport us back to Hogwarts in an hour. He explained that Sirius had been using the portal to stay in touch with what was going on in Britain.

I didn't want to, but I decided that I should go back to Hogwarts sooner rather than later. Black was too focused on his spellwork to listen, but Lupin was extremely wary. When I explained that I was competing in the Triwizard Tournament, he agreed. Harry didn't understand, but accepted Lupin's promise to explain. Lupin didn't delay in escorting me back to the portal. On the way back, he explained how to move the portal and gave me a story to tell when I returned. He cast a clever confundus on me to make sure I did everything perfectly. It took Lupin three tries to get the spell right. It left me lightheaded and dazed, but I could still think clearly enough to do what I needed to.

I did exactly what he said. As soon as I passed through the portal, I started the spell to move it across the lake. It was successful, and I covered up that spell with several school charms I had been practicing all week, then recast the Bubblehead charm on myself, followed by several warming charms. Then I performed spells to look for Harry to set up my story.

I rocketed towards the surface and bellowed for help as soon as my head broke the surface. Shacklebolt was standing on the bank, dripping wet, and organizing several teachers and aurors to search the lake. Shacklebolt waved his wand and the spell lifted me out of the water and pulled me towards them. I barely slowed before tumbling to the ground at their feet, Lupin's story tumbling out of my mouth. I told them I was showing Harry one of the coves I found during the second task then he disappeared and I couldn't find him. I barely had a chance to recast the Bubblehead charm before they hustled me back into the water to show them the cove. I swam down, the aurors following me closely. I pointed to where the portal had been, and the aurors started to examine it.

Just like Lupin predicted, they investigated, but found nothing. My fake panic convinced them I was genuine and as soon as I showed them the location, they pulled me away, sending me back into the castle to wait in Dumbledore's office.

Eventually, while the search for Harry was still ongoing, Shacklebolt returned and listened patiently as I told him Lupin's story in bits and pieces, trying to think clearly through the confundus.

During the second task, I stumbled upon the cove and a warm current. I took Harry to sit there so we could talk. While we were looking for the exact spot, Harry disappeared and I tried to follow him, casting location spells to look for him, but they all failed. I searched around, trying to retrace the path he took, but failed and went for help.

Shacklebolt had no qualms about letting me know that this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't ditched him. Apparently, they had unearthed a small cave created with magic and filled with comfortably warm air, evidence that someone—a human—had been spending time there. There were clothes and blankets and a small collection of items with the Black family seal. According to Shacklebolt, I had stumbled upon Black's hiding place. He had taken the opportunity to kidnap Harry and flee. Shacklebolt cast several diagnostic spells and sighed, telling me that I had been confounded, then escorted me to the Hospital Wing with the orders to not go in the lake again.

I was terrified that they would press harder or have Moody interrogate me again, but there was nothing. I'm not risking anyone being able to read this entry. I'm placing a dozen security spells over these few pages and a few more over the entire journal. All are spells I got from the books in my secret study room, just to make it more difficult for someone to break the seals.

I know I shouldn't be proud of what I did. I know I shouldn't be proud of freeing Harry and duping the Ministry, but I still am. Although, I suspect Dumbledore knows I wasn't telling the entire truth. He visited me in the Hospital Wing that evening, but I feigned sleep. He respected that and left me alone.

Cedric

C | D

 **27 March 1995**

Dear Diary,

Yesterday, Rita Skeeter found out that I was there when Harry 'disappeared' from auror custody. She blames me for setting a werewolf loose in Britain and blames a recent werewolf attack on Harry. The school hates me again, especially since this morning there was a follow-up article about my contribution to Black's escape from Hogwarts and subsequent suspension.

Black sent me a letter, which arrived right after the Prophet. It was incredibly clever. I was almost convinced it was a rare letter from my estranged godfather, who Black had known at Hogwarts, but there was a subtle reference to France that gave away Black's identity. When I was somewhat alone, I tapped the word 'France' with my wand and the entire letter changed. It was a fascinating enchantment.

Black thanked me for bringing Harry back to him, then told me that Erica Conall, who had monopolized the news on the cases surrounding him, disappeared the evening before Skeeter's article. Black suspected that You-Know-Who was responsible. Even though Conall wasn't on Black's side, she was a good journalist and Black had been exchanging letters with her, trying to share his side of the story. They were supposed to meet for an interview that evening, but instead of Conall, a Death Eater, Barty Crouch Jr., had showed up instead, told Black that Conall was dead, threatened to go after Black's supporters, then tried to kill Black. Black warned me to be careful. He told me that he would meet me after the school year ended to explain what he knew, then told me to burn the letter. As soon as I finished reading it, I poked it with my wand and it shriveled into a heap of ash. The people sitting nearest me gave me angry and suspicious looks, so I quickly left the common room.

I spent the day in my study room and no one bothered me, although I knew the professors would disapprove of skipping class. My father sent me a letter last night and said that he wouldn't make me return to Hogwarts for my seventh year if I didn't want to, as long as I rejected Black's innocence. If I didn't, I wouldn't be allowed to remain under his roof after September first.

I'm not giving up on Black. Maybe he'll take me in when I see him this summer.

Cedric

* * *

 _ **UP NEXT:**_ _A continuation of the collected personal notes of Mister Cedric Diggory._


	15. 21 April 1995

_The Illustrious Diary of Mr. Cedric Diggory_

 **21 April 1995**

Dear Diary,

I figured out how Black escaped Azkaban and gets along with transformed werewolves without becoming one himself. As soon as I did, I couldn't stop laughing. It's brilliant! I never would have figured it out if I hadn't caught Harry's friends sneaking into the Forbidden Forest. Curious, I followed them. They stayed on the outskirts of the Forest and looped around to stop on the thin stretch of the lake that was hidden from the castle. The girl, Hermione, was excited to show the Weasley something. Right in front of my eyes, she transformed into an otter. For a moment, I was dumbfounded. She might have been brilliant, but she was a fourth-year! Then I realized exactly why she attempted to become an animagus. I burst out laughing.

I startled them and almost got myself hexed, but it was worth it.

Black is an animagus. I feel like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.

They reluctantly told me that no one else knew about Black or Granger being animagi. I asked them if this was where they went on the weekends. Apparently, there was a cave outside of Hogsmeade which they spent the weekends in. When Harry had disappeared in the lake, they were scared that their secret tunnel that they took out of the castle was discovered, but it wasn't, although they missed two weekends of work because of auror guards. They invited me to join them, but I offered to show them a better place than a cave.

They were wary, but they agreed.

I showed them to my study room. Granger's face lit up with excitement and I suspected that I would have to share the room from now on. I left them to enjoy themselves. Somehow, I found myself at the edge of the lake. I had just drawn my wand to cast the Bubblehead charm when someone grabbed my shoulder. I shot off a hex without thinking, but they just grabbed my wrist and directed the spell upwards. It was Shacklebolt. He said, "Aurors have already searched every inch of the lake, Diggory. You'll only exhaust yourself looking for him."

He then explained that he was there to ask me what I knew of the disappearance of Erica Conall. I told him that You-Know-Who had killed her. He was immediately suspicious of how I knew anything about it, but I explained that Black had sent me a letter saying that You-Know-Who had gone after the reporter and one of his Death Eaters had threatened to go after me if I didn't shut my mouth.

Shacklebolt frowned and asked if I really believed You-Know-Who had returned. There was no answer I could give that he would believe, so I took a leaf out of Harry's book and stayed silent. He firmly took my arm and pulled me into the school. He marched up to Dumbledore's office while I went to eat an early dinner.

After eating, I went up to my study room only to find it felt bigger than before, yet Weasley and Granger had somehow commandeered the entire space save a small side table tucked in the corner. I took the small table to work on homework. I left shortly before curfew and I suspected that the two would remain secluded in the room for the entire night.

Cedric

* * *

 _ **UP NEXT:**_ _A continuation of the collected personal notes of Mister Cedric Diggory._


	16. 13 May 1995

_The Illustrious Diary of Mr. Cedric Diggory_

 **4 May 1995**

Dear Diary,

Weasley and Granger spend more time in my study room than I do. Apparently, they've also figured out that the study room can do almost anything except provide food. The twins are going mad trying to find all three of us, but I shrug off their demands to know where we're disappearing to.

Black sent me another letter with a list of people, whose names I didn't recognize, who had gone missing since Erica Conall. It wasn't coded, so I went to Dumbledore's office the first chance I got and gave him the note. He apparently received the same message, as had the Minister and Head Auror.

Cedric

C | D

 **13 May 1995**

Dear Diary,

I got another message from Black with a list of all the Death Eaters Black knew about and three targets that Black suspected You-Know-Who would attack at the most convenient time: during the final task of the Triwizard Tournament. The tournament, the Ministry, and St. Mungo's were the most likely targets. By the time I made it to Dumbledore's office for my detention, the Minister, Scrimgeour, Moody, and Shacklebolt were already there. The Minister looked furious and didn't turn when I entered. Moody's eye focused on me exactly as it always did whenever I was in the same room as him. Shacklebolt put a hand on my shoulder and took the note from my hand. I tried to retreat from the tension in the room but Shacklebolt didn't release me.

Scrimgeour showed the note to the Minister, interrupting his tirade. He turned on me, but before he could say anything, Dumbledore spoke.

He told everyone present of the role that Sirius had played in the previous war. Because of his family, he was highly skilled in the dark arts by the time he was fifteen and ran away from home. During the war, he used his knowledge of the Dark Arts and his prankster mind to anticipate Death Eater attacks then leave traps for the Death Eaters. He succeeded half the time, which meant he was twice as successful as anyone else. Traitor or not, Black's warning could not be ignored and it couldn't hurt to be on guard.

I tried to duck out of the room, but Shacklebolt kept a firm grip on my shoulder. He steered me into one of the seats and everyone turned towards me. The Minister demanded to know why I was receiving letters from Black as well, then refused to listen when I told him honestly that I didn't know. Before I lost my temper with the man's idiocy, Dumbledore intervened.

I remained stuck in that chair with Shacklebolt's firm hand on my shoulder for nearly two hours while Dumbledore, Moody, and the Minister argued over what to do.

In the end, when Shacklebolt finally released me and allowed me to escape out of the office door, nothing had been decided.

Cedric

* * *

 _ **UP NEXT:**_ _A continuation of the collected personal notes of Mister Cedric Diggory._


	17. 25 June 1995

_The Illustrious Diary of Mr. Cedric Diggory_

 **24 June 1994**

Dear Diary,

The final task was horrible. Neither of my parents showed up to wish me luck before the final task. Dumbledore pulled me aside and told me that there was a crisis in London that my father was trying to straighten out and my mother was helping at St. Mungo's to deal with the injuries. Dumbledore tried to reassure me that their absence was unavoidable, but we both knew that even though my father's work may have been legitimate, my mother was barely a nurse at St. Mungo's and was there entirely of her own volition. My father's department, likewise, had enough resources that they could let my father have the afternoon off for me, no matter how severe the crisis. Dumbledore didn't say anything further as the Weasley twins sandwiched me between them and marched me off on a walk around the grounds. I knew they had an exam at the time, but I was grateful they were there to distract me.

In the maze, I encountered two Acromantulas, a Sphinx, a boggart which turned into a dog and chased me until I managed to tie it up with the Incarcerous spell, one of the terrifying creatures Hagrid had been raising all year, two different types of mist that I barely managed to blow away for long enough to slip through without dealing with their effects. I barely managed the throw off the effects of an Erkling, but I couldn't figure out where the creature was. I walked directly into a pit of pitch that was disguised with a layer of grass. My shoes were completely stuck and I had to leave them behind. A runespoor tried to attack me, but luckily, it got caught in the pitch and I didn't have to fight it. A forest troll was guarding the cup, and I decided to see if the rumors about one of the Weasleys knocking a troll out with its own club was possible. A simple Levitation spell later and I was faced with the disgusting task of climbing over the troll with bare feet to grab the cup. As soon as I touched it, I appeared back at the mouth of the maze.

That evening, when Dumbledore shook my hand to congratulate me, I asked if I could go home that night. He agreed with a wan smile and at midnight, when the celebrations began to wind down and I had a chance to congratulate the other two competitors, I dragged my trunk to Dumbledore's office and used his Floo to go home, deliberately leaving the Triwizard cup in Dumbledore's office. When I arrived, there was no one in the house. I dragged my trunk to my room and when I looked out the window, I saw a large animal stalking around the edge of the backyard. The creature looked at me silhouetted in the window and I shuddered when I recognized it as a dog. It shifted into a human shape and I knew it was Black. I enlarged my schoolbag and filled it with the possessions I didn't want to part with, left a note to my parents on the kitchen table telling them that since they didn't want me to tarnish their name any further, I would make my own way. Black was waiting for me in the yard. He sighed when he saw my bag. A single Side-Along Apparition later, we were on the banks of the Thames. I frowned, but Sirius Apparated twice more and we landed on the street I had left Harry on several months before. Sirius showed me into the house, informed me that both Harry and Lupin were asleep, then opened the door to Harry's room, in which a bed had been made for me.

I set my things down quietly, and Sirius showed me to the nearest bathroom to help me clean up the various burns, scratches, and scrapes I acquired during the task. The worst part was my feet. I had been barefoot ever since my encounter with the pitch and didn't have a chance to put shoes on until I arrived home. There were several cuts on the soles of my feet, which Sirius expertly healed while muttering about werewolves giving him too much practice healing injuries. After Sirius finished, I showered and made my way back to the room I now shared with Harry. He slept soundly as I climbed onto the bunk above him. For a long time, I listened to his steady breathing and feeling the fear and stress and uncertainty start to melt away as I listen to him and write this.

Cedric

C | D

 **25 June 1995**

Dear Diary,

Harry woke me up early in the morning by scrambling up on my bed in excitement and bouncing around. While I was surprised and happy that he was acting like a kid for the first time I could remember, I still didn't want to wake up after only a few hours of sleep. I clamped my pillow over my head, which only made Harry laugh and pull at my pajamas until Lupin came in and told him to leave me alone. I didn't sleep for long after Harry obediently left. He was a good kid and I was excited to see him as well.

I wandered through the house, following the smell of somewhat-burned food. Harry explained that it was Black's fault everything burned, claiming the man couldn't cook. I just shrugged and ate what Lupin set in front of me. As soon as I finished eating, Black ran through the rules in the house, which consisted of picking up after oneself because the house-elf, Kreacher, was getting too old to keep up with the mess of more than one person, don't go outside alone during the day without an invisibility cloak but during the night was fine as long as Black or Lupin knew where I was going and when I would be back, and the biggest rule was that I couldn't be in the house during the full moon until I learned to become an animagus.

They were simple, common-sense rules. Lupin added that I couldn't go out on my own until I learned the Patronus charm, and if I wanted to send an owl to someone, Sirius would go to London and send it for me. He also said that Black had the final say in everything. I didn't understand why because Lupin was obviously the more responsible of the two, but I didn't argue

I decided I would enjoy living with Lupin, Harry, and Black. It was almost like a bachelor pad.

Harry quickly dragged me away from the table and into the basement, which was obviously where Harry and Lupin would transform on the full moon, but it was also set up as a dueling area. Harry persuaded me into a duel with him. I started out wary of how much he had learned from Lupin and Black, but it turned out he was barely better than a third year with his spellwork. I defeated him easily and deftly caught his wand within two minutes before doing my best to teach Harry how to be more strategic and aggressive when dueling. An hour later, Black ended the dueling practice to start me on learning the Patronus charm in order to get an idea of my animagus form.

I will enjoy living with Lupin, Harry, and Black.

Cedric

* * *

 _UP NEXT:_ _A letter from one of our fugitives to the revered leader of the light._


	18. 28 June 1995

**28 June 1995**

Professor D,

In case you haven't guessed, Cedric Diggory is with me. Harry had been begging me to let him spend time with Cedric and it wasn't until you let him return home that I had the chance to approach him. My plan was to arrange a time and place with him to give Harry his wish, but the first thing Cedric asked me was if he could stay with me. I don't know why, and I haven't asked, but I couldn't stop him from trying to follow me since he already knew where I was hiding and would have ended up on my doorstep eventually. At least this way, he's safer and I have my eye on him at all times. I supposed you would know Cedric's reasoning better than I would. I'll ask when he settles in.

I know you don't trust me, but I also know that you haven't gathered the Order. I don't know what I can do to convince you that You-Know-Who is back. You trusted me in the Forbidden Forest, but why not now? I don't understand why you refuse to prepare for even the possibility of You-Know-Who's return. Tell me what I can do to convince you and I'll do it! You-Know-Who is back, and I fear he may be more powerful than before. The longer he goes unseen and unopposed, the more dangerous he becomes. His Death Eaters have already infiltrated the ranks of the Ministry, but I don't know to what extent. Please, Professor, I'm begging you to at least give me the benefit of the doubt.

You probably don't care, but everyone is doing well. Remus made Harry an early birthday cake but ate the entire thing overnight. It must have been a wonderfully amazing cake. Harry is still a horrible duelist. Even Remus is about to give up on him. We're going to let Cedric see if he can teach Harry to actually try, but I'm not holding my breath. Hopefully, he's just scared to hurt us in a duel and he'll be okay if he ever gets in a scrap.

I think Harry sees Cedric as his older brother, so it might turn out for the better. That reminds me of something I forgot to tell you while I was at Hogwarts. Apparently, You-Know-Who claimed that he didn't know anything about my little brother's death (disappearance?). Kreacher, even though he is much nicer since I destroyed that horcrux he's been carrying around, refuses to say anything about Regulus' death even though I know that he knows what happened. Could you look into that? Regulus is still my little brother and I never actually hated him or blamed him for signing up with You-Know-Who. He never had much choice in the matter.

Also, if you have any idea why my house-elf was walking around with the darkest magic I've ever heard of, could you please let me know? I don't know whose horcrux it was, but it was attached to one of Slytherin's ancient artifacts (a locket), which makes me suspect that You-Know-Who was at least involved in the matter. I know I could be getting my hopes up for nothing, which is why I haven't told the others anything, but what if my brother could still be alive?

Another thing about horcruxes: Harry told me about the Chamber of Secrets and what happened to the Weasley girl. The way he described the diary sounded suspiciously like a horcrux. If my hunch is right, there are at least two dark wizards, most likely in You-Know-Who's ranks, who created horcruxes. If You-Know-Who's inner circle all have one, including You-Know-Who himself, we have a big problem. You-Know-Who didn't use a horcrux to resurrect himself because I know Harry destroyed his horcrux. Perhaps You-Know-Who asked or ordered Regulus to create a horcrux and he disappeared rather than sink to such depravity? Professor, if I could answer these questions, I wouldn't bother you, but I can't and I don't have the resources do so.

Something needs to be done and I'm not comfortable telling anyone about horcruxes. I figured you would be the most likely person to already know about them and you're in a position to do something.

On a different and less dark note, Cedric mentioned a few times that he isn't planning on returning to Hogwarts for his seventh year. Remus says he's just upset because of what happened during his sixth year, but I'm not sure. I think Cedric is serious about dropping out. Remus and I are in no position to convince him to go back, although I fully intend to try. Could you write to him? He might listen to you.

Finally, whose wand did you give me in the Forbidden Forest? I know it isn't yours, but it's incredibly powerful. I'm not a master of wandlore, but wands should not be as powerful as this one. I don't like to use it but I haven't been able to obtain my own wand yet. Could you please give me more information on it? I know it's an old wand, but how old?

I'm delivering this letter to you by hand, but I made arrangements with Gringotts to receive mail. Give your reply to the goblins and they will deliver it to me.

Sincerely,

Sirius Black

P.S. Remus and Harry wrote you letters as well. Remus has news about the werewolves, but I don't know what Harry's is about. When he gave me the letter, the kid had the same look James used to get when he stirred up trouble. I decided I didn't want to know. Beware.

* * *

 _ **UP NEXT:**_ _Rita Skeeter has something to say._


	19. 2 July 1995

2 July 1995

* * *

 **Scandal at the Ministry!**

 **By Rita Skeeter**

Over the past week, the Ministry of Magic has attempted to cover up a number of disappearances. To date, a total of seven individuals have vanished from their work and homes. Four of which have occurred in the past week! Their families don't know where they went and the Ministry has remained suspiciously silent on the matter.

The first to vanish was Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, who set out to investigate a potential sighting of Sirius Black near Diagon Alley on the night of the Triwizard Tournament's final task, June 24th. He left with four other aurors, but they were accidentally separated in a crowd. Auror Shacklebolt was not seen again. When aurors looked for him at his home, it had been ransacked and his copies of all the files on Sirius Black's case, of which he was the lead investigator, had been stolen.

At the end of March, the _Daily Prophet's_ Erica Conall, who was in correspondence with Black, suffered a similar fate on the evening of March 26th. She disappeared along with all her information on Black. Are the two disappearances connected?

The following morning, Minerva McGonagall arrived at the Ministry demanding to see the person in charge of Black's case, unaware that Auror Shacklebolt had disappeared the previous evening. When she was refused a meeting with Auror Shacklebolt, she left the Ministry without disclosing the reason for her visit. She informed the Auror department that she would be at Hogwarts when Auror Shacklebolt was available to meet with her, however, she never made it back to school.

As the proverb says, "Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is enemy action."

Is Sirius Black responsible? It would appear so, and he is getting bolder. On June 30th, two members of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Amos Diggory (father of the Triwizard Champion Cedric Diggory) and Adalbert Hopkirk (father of Mafalda Hopkirk, an assistant in the Improper Use of Magic Office), disappeared after leaving the Leaky Cauldron that evening.

Eileen Diggory, wife of Amos Diggory, said that her husband was not the first of her family to go missing. Cedric Diggory, the Triwizard Champion, arrived home at some point during the night after winning the Triwizard Tournament. How he left Hogwarts is still unknown, but according to his mother, he disappeared from his bedroom in the early hours of the morning. His bedroom was found ransacked as well. His parents were unable to figure out if anything was missing. When interviewed, she said "when Amos and I arrived home around three on the morning of the 25th, we heard voices in Cedric's room. By the time we made it upstairs, we found his school trunk and his things strewn around the room. Cedric is a very neat boy, he never lets his room become messy."

Two other students from Hogwarts, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, disappeared from the Weasley home in the early hours of July 1st. Unlike the other disappearances, their bedrooms were untouched, their parents reported that several sets of clothes disappeared with them. They were seen on the Knight Bus, which took them to Hermione Granger's muggle home, where they stole a sum of muggle money equal to more than sixty galleons. They left no note behind.

When was the Ministry going to tell us that those involved in the Black investigations have gradually disappeared? Where were they taken? Are they still alive? If they are dead, where are the bodies? Is the Ministry getting any closer to finding Black?

* * *

 _ **UP NEXT:**_ _The final chapter._


	20. 5 July 1995

_Black House – 5 July 1995_

"Cedric! Cedric! Cedric!" Harry chanted, bouncing on the older boy's bed.

"Shut up, Harry. Merlin's balls, can't I just sleep in for one morning?" Cedric grumbled, his pillow over his head.

"Harry James Potter!" Remus scolded from the doorway. "What have I told you about waking people up in the morning? Sirius is trying to sleep too."

"Sirius is already up and in the kitchen."

"You woke me up!"

"You've been up for more than an hour!"

"It doesn't matter! Let Cedric sleep."

"But Remus!" Harry complained.

"Enough! Kitchen. Now."

Harry groaned and jumped off the bed to the ground.

"And stop it with the stunts! We can't take you to the hospital if you get hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt."

Remus closed the door and cast a weak silencing charm on the door as he followed. When they reached the kitchen, Harry stopped suddenly in the doorway. Remus ran into him and nearly knocked the younger boy to the ground. "Harry! What is up with—" Remus broke off when he saw the reason Harry had stopped.

Sirius sat at the table, his head in his hands and a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ in front of him.

"Harry, go to your room, please." Remus ordered his quietly, picking up two of the plates of food Sirius had set out and placing them in Harry's hands.

Harry wanted to protest, but Remus' tone shocked him into compliance. He mutely accepted the plates and retreated from the room. Before he could consider eavesdropping, Remus cast a charm on the door to stop him.

Inside the room, Remus walked over to Sirius and picked up the newspaper, reading the first few sentences silently.

"What actually happened?" Remus asked, sitting down beside his friend.

"I found the article last night. It's not good. Shacklebolt, McGonagall, and Amos Diggory are missing. There's another person, but I don't know them. I suspect Cedric does. What am I supposed to tell him? 'Cedric, the father you ran away from was kidnapped by You-Know-Who as well as one of his friends. Oh, and your favorite professor was kidnapped too.' What am I going to tell Harry? 'Sorry, kid, but that auror you like even though he locked you away for seven months was just kidnapped by You-Know-Who and is being tortured right now, if he's not already dead. Oh, and your best friends just went missing as well, but _nobody_ knows where they are.'"

"Sirius—"

"You-Know-Who is looking for me, Remus. He went after all those people to try and get to me. He tried to go after Cedric too. I was never in his room, so that was someone else and it sounds like we barely avoided a fight."

"It's not your fault, Sirius. You-Know-Who is hurting them, not you."

"He's trying to get to me."

"It's still not your fault!"

"I could have turned myself in."

"And then what? If you turn yourself in what happens to Harry? What happens to me and Cedric?"

"You'll be fine—"

"No, Sirius, we won't be fine. I have a death sentence hanging over me. Aurors have a kill-on-sight order and it only takes one mistake. Harry is fourteen and is one of the most recognizable people in the world. He can't go to Hogwarts and he can't go back to his aunt's. Cedric's father just vanished and according to this article, the Death Eaters were minutes away from getting Cedric too and none of us knew until a week and a half later."

"What happens when the Death Eaters go after Cedric's mother next? What happens when You-Know-Who tells the ministry I'm an animagus?"

"Pettigrew can't tell anyone you're an animagus. We made that Unbreakable Vow in fifth year."

"What happens when he goes after Ron and Hermione? What if he goes after their families?"

"Ron and Hermione managed to sneak past a team of aurors and disappeared into the muggle world. At this point, only the Ministry or the muggle police has a chance of finding them. Their families are no doubt guarded by aurors."

"Harry's going to want to go looking for them."

"Sirius—"

"Stop trying to make me feel better! It's all my fault and you know it!"

"If this is your fault then the fact that Harry is a werewolf now is my fault!"

"It's not the same!"

"It is the same, Sirius! The werewolf attacking Harry was completely out of my control! You-Know-Who's actions are completely out of your control!"

"I brought You-Know-Who back!"

"No, you didn't. The ritual said 'blood of the enemy _forcibly taken_ ' which means that you fought as hard as you could to stop him from returning. At that point, _nothing_ could have stopped You-Know-Who's return except you joining his ranks."

"I should have—"

"There was absolutely nothing you _could_ have done unless you suddenly decided to join the Death Eaters, yet you defeated You-Know-Who in a duel!"

"I didn't defeat him. The wand did."

"It doesn't matter."

"Remus, this is still my fault. If I had stopped the werewolf, none of this would have happened."

"Stopped—Sirius, you are well-fed and healthy now and you can barely hold your own against _Harry_ when he's transformed, much less a fully-grown werewolf. It's a miracle you survived that night in the first place. You would have died in a fight with the werewolf, as would everyone else and only Harry _might_ have survived."

Sirius poked the newspaper with his wand and it burned to ash.

"Sirius, I know what you're thinking. I won't let you go running off trying to make things right and abandon Harry again."

"I didn't—"

"Yes, you did abandon him—twice. When Lily and James died, you got yourself sent to Azkaban. When You-Know-Who returned, you got yourself sentenced to death. You survived due to sheer dumb luck. How long do you think that luck is going to hold?"

"Remus—"

"I'm not going to make you tell Harry or Cedric anything. I'll do that."

"Remus—"

"It's not just Harry and Cedric and me who are relying on you. Your brother is too."

"How do you know about—"

"Kreacher told me."

"That damned elf—"

"Kreacher is a good elf, Sirius. He may hate you, but he loves Regulus and getting yourself killed won't help him. If there is the slightest chance your brother is still alive, you owe it to him to find him and bring him home. At the very least, you owe it to your little brother to clear his name."

Sirius gritted his teeth.

"Good, now come on. Let's not worry the boys anymore." Remus started to walk out the door but stopped when Sirius didn't follow and looked out the window instead. "Sirius, don't even think about it."

"I'll come back, I promise, Remus. I have to do something to make it right."

"Sirius, no. Please don't risk this. Not now."

"I'm sorry. I have to do something."

"Sirius!" Remus shouted as Sirius knocked the smaller man to the side and marched into the hallway. "Sirius, don't!"

Remus shout drew Cedric out of the bedroom he shared with Harry just in time for Sirius to run into him and knock him back a step. Cedric barely stayed on his feet and spread his arms to hold onto both walls.

"What's going on?" Cedric asked warily, not stepping out of Sirius' way. The hallway was too narrow for Sirius to fight his way past without a significant struggle. Cedric was the same size as the man, albeit much younger.

"Sirius?" Harry asked. "Where are you going?"

"I'm sorry, Harry. Something went wrong and I have to help straighten it out."

"Then we're all going," Harry stated, crossing his arms.

"No!" Sirius and Remus replied sharply.

"Who died?" Cedric asked unexpectedly.

Sirius turned so sharply to look at him that his neck cracked.

"I'm old enough to remember the end of the war." Cedric explained. "Who died? Or should I ask: how many people died?"

"We don't know if they're dead or just captured," Remus responded when Sirius gritted his teeth.

"You're not telling me, that means it was someone I know, someone Harry knows."

"Cedric—" Sirius tried to interrupt, but it was too late.

"The person who knows the most about all of us is Shacklebolt. Like it or not, he has the biggest target on his back. It was him, wasn't it?" Cedric ended his statement resigned.

Harry looked between Sirius and Remus, his eyes wide and his face pale.

Sirius visibly crumpled at his godson's expression. "Harry—" The young teen didn't resist as Sirius pulled him into a hug.

"Is he going to be okay?" Harry asked, his voice slightly muffled in Sirius' shoulder.

"No, Harry, he's not going to be okay." Remus answered honestly. "He's been missing for more than a week and if he's still alive, no one knows where he is."

"What about the map? We can find him—"

"Sirius gave the map back to the twins ages ago and it only works in Hogwarts." Remus sighed. "There's nothing we can do. Cedric, there's more, but not in front of Harry."

Cedric felt as if all the air had left the room.

Sirius guided Harry into the kitchen while Kreacher silently stalked them. Remus led Cedric into the rarely-used sitting room.

"Who?" Cedric demanded as Remus sat down in one of the chairs.

"Several people. Shacklebolt disappeared from muggle London around the time you left Britain with Sirius. In the morning, McGonagall disappeared somewhere between the Ministry and Hogwarts. On the 30th, your father and Adalbert Hopkirk disappeared after leaving the Leaky Cauldron that evening. We know Death Eaters are responsible for those disappearances. Early on the first, Ron and Hermione ran away from home. Our best guess indicates they're in the muggle world somewhere."

"They're not looking for us—at least, not yet."

"What do you mean?"

"We have to go find them."

"Cedric—"

"I have to do something. Hermione managed to become an animagus sometime last year—she's an otter—and the animagus transformation is entirely wandless. It took her less than a year. Ron is almost certainly trying to master it right now, but he spent the time she was studying learning a massive array of dueling and defensive magic. Some of the spells he can cast are seventh-year material. They're somewhere near Hogwarts—within a half-day's travel."

"Broom or on foot?"

"I don't know. I think Ron has a broom, so it could be that. They left the grounds most weekends, but they weren't in Hogsmeade—at least, that's what the twins said."

"I'll tell—"

"No, I'll go. You said the muggles know who Sirius is and they probably know you as well. The muggles definitely don't know who I am and if the aurors drag me in, I can tell them I just ran away and they can't hold me."

"And the Death Eaters?"

"They won't be in a muggle town so close to Hogwarts. I'll take Harry's broom to search. What's the incantation for the Disillusionment charm?"

"Cedric—it's too dangerous."

"I'm not stupid—I know it's too late for my father, but I can get to Harry's friends. I've been doing nothing for long enough."

Remus sighed. "If I let you go, then I can't stop Sirius from rushing off as well."

"I have a plan, that's the criteria for leaving this house, right?"

"Cedric—" Remus broke off and rubbed his temple. "I'm not your professor anymore and I don't like this idea, but I can't stop you. Be back by sunset whether you find them or not."

"Of course."

Cedric stood up, and hurried out of the room, grabbing Harry's broom as he hurried out of the room, tapping his head with his wand and fading from sight.

 **The End**

Word Count: 39,720

Begun: 14 May 2018

Finished: 2 June 2018

Posting begun: 23 June 2018

Posing completed: 9 July 2019

* * *

 _Author's note: Enjoy where your imagination takes you._

 _If anyone would like to pick up the loose ends of this story and weave them into a new plot, you are free to do so, on the condition that you send it to me when you post it. If you'd like, I'll even put a note below so others can find it._


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